Guildford

[mott]

Several from Colchester SMEE made the trip on Sunday and very well worth it ,it was. The place was busy but not over crowded. There was a good spread of traders and we all put our credit cards under some strain. Interesting to see Myford there. I visited the ModelWorks stand but there was just the usual exhibits and leaflets. There was a guy in charge called Doug - I think_ but he quickly announced himself as "non - technical".That was a disappointment as I had a few queries on the 14XX but got no answers. Noticably none of their railway models were in steam though I believe there was a traction engine there driven by a lady in pink overalls! Julia Old and her Burrel. The Guildford locos in steam were really mindblowing and I have never seen a steaming bay with such an abundance of riches. I have lots of photos if anyone needs them. The exhibition tent had some wonderful locos on display as well as aero engines which attracted much attention.A really excellent day out.Mott

[Jason]

Hi Mott

Have you got any photo's from the day, or has anybody else?

Cheers

Jason

[mott]

Hi Guys, I have been tackled by LocoworksNorth about my comments on the ModelWorks stand which he thought were a bit negative. Locoworksnorth has now told me that the Gentleman in charge of the stand was in fact the company chairman and he had run the stand singlehanded for the 2 days which is obviously a pretty heavy commitment.I'm glad they were there and noticed that plenty of people were going through which was encouraging and I hope they made sales.We need them to suceed as the main kit producer of our locos.Mott

[pannierstan]

Hi Mott,

It was despairing to read your initial comments regarding Guildford.

I for one was at the Modelworks owners rally and am fully aware of the commitment they provide for these events.

Unfortunately the owners DON'T. Only half a dozen people turned up prepared to steam and the weather spoiled that.

Can I ask if you took your model to Guildford. You have been very vocal regarding your issues with the 14xx and while that is not a criticism I feel it would have been beneficial for both you and Modelworks to show that these problems can be over come.

From your posts I feel that you have been one of the most supported individuals at Modelworks and while criticism which might be justified was quickly posted publicly on these forums, the solution and rectification generally supplied by Modelworks was not.

While your project is nearing completion there are still many out there who will need that support that you received.

We have to strike a balance where by genuine problems are aired and congratulations and support are given when these problems are solved.

Regards Stan

[mott]

Stan, there will always be a problem with "balance" on these sort of discussions because its usually only the problems which get aired , the specialised builders web sites being of course exceptions where they tell it as it happens.I am certainly conscious that I have started lots of the strings on the 14XX - not all negative - and where help has been given by the factory it has always been recounted in detail including the 2 visits my loco has made to Daventry. I suppose the trouble is that when you have put up your £5 grand for the kit you expected it to go together with minimum trouble provided you follow the instructions to the letter. I think the other factor is that when you are seen to be having trouble getting your loco into steam, the failures are rather public with lots of club members seeing whats happened and you feel your original judgement in making the purchase is suspect." Heads are shaken".
I was determined to get running and I have had lots of support and help from contributors to these strings, the ModelWorks technical staff and friends in my engineering club and have finally made it -see the 1451 string and I'm glad others have got into steam with a lot less trouble - indeed I believe there are 14xx s running which have steamed without any modification of any sort but we don't hear that much from these guys unfortunately though they could always have given their experiences had they wanted to. Mott