Trainwest model railway show in Melksham this weekend

[whole diary]

[grahame]

A write in the local paper reflects on the irony of going to a model railway show by car, and laments the lack of provision of trains to the local station so serve the show:

http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/yoursay/letters/8918202.Get_the_train_/

TrainWest web site:

http://www.trainwest.org.uk/

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Wiltshire Times:

Melksham train show resorts to bus service

Organisers of the Trainwest Model Railway Exhibition in Melksham on April 9 and 10 are laying on a shuttle bus from Chippenham Railway Station to the show because there are so few trains to Melksham.

Trainwest is the largest model railway exhibition in Wiltshire. The show will be held at the Christie Miller Sports Centre and will feature 65 stands including 25 working model railway layouts.

Exhibition manager Geoff Endacott said, ^On Saturday the first service from Chippenham leaves at 3.38pm and gets to Melksham at 3.47pm, which is nearly six hours after the show opens. On Sunday the train leaves Chippenham at 6.35pm and arrives at 6.44pm ^ in time to see the last vans leaving the car park two hours after we have started to pack up.^

A free shuttle bus will instead run from Chippenham Station to the show on both days, with four return trips.

Tickets are available at the Christie Miller Centre, at Melksham Tourist Information Centre, and on the door. More details at www.trainwest.org.uk.

[Ollie]

Think I might come have a look at that.

[JayMac]

Me too, Saturday. Now I know I can get to and from Chippenham for free!

[grahame]

Interestingly, from Bristol and Bath you CAN do it by train on the Saturday ...


Saturdays Only.

BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) -> MKM^» (Melksham (Station code) - next trains)  08:23 -> 09:20, Change TRO^» (Trowbridge - next trains)

MKM -> BRI  15:21 -> 16:15, Change CPM^» (Chippenham - next trains)
MKM -> BRI  15:48 -> 16:49, Change TRO

Off peak day return - 9.60


I'm on "early"s on Saturday ... exhibitor's breakfasts ... will be along later and maybe we can meet up. At the least we can offer a coffee

[grahame]

It just struck me ... next weekend, we have some of the exhibitors staying at our hotel that's halfway between Melksham Station and the venue - Christie Miller Sports Centre, Bowerhill.  Checking back as I wrote this, there are 2 rooms (double / twin) available on Friday night, 3 rooms on Saturday night, and plenty on Sunday.

If anyone who's a frequent poster feels like staying overnight,  I can cut 23 pounds off the regular room rate for "probably the best hotel rooms in Melksham" and "better than the Ritz" (those are past customer reviews) - so that's 72 pounds per room per night, double or twin, including our superior continental breakfast.  All the usual Ts & Cs like offer "subject to availability" and an unusual offer - complimentary pickup from Melksham station from the arrivals at 19:11 or 19:47 on Friday, 09:20, 15:21, 15:48 or 21:34 ... and drop off back to any of those, or to the 17:25, 18:45 or 19:52 on Sunday, or the 06:40 or 07:11 on Monday.

* Hotel website - http://www.wellhousemanor.co.uk/
* Click on the arrival date to take you to the booking system
* Say "delegate" in the coupon code box for the 72 pound rate

[JayMac]

Well I won't be able to make it. other commitments. 

Nice to see the exhibition getting some more press coverage:

From This Is Wiltshire:

Trains at Melksham to delight all ages

Trains to delight all ages Saturday and Sunday, 10am-5pm Wiltshire's largest model railway exhibition, Trainwest 2011 opens its doors again at the Christie Miller Centre on the edge of Melksham on Saturday and Sunday between 10am-5pm, for fans of all ages to gaze in wonder at the intricate layouts created by enthusiasts from all over the country.

Tickets are ^5 adult, ^4 OAP, ^2 child in advance from the centre, Melksham TIC^▸ (Tourist Information Centre) and The Gas Cupboard in Westbury, or on the door at an extra ^2 per head. Layouts feature English and American scenes and there are also many trade stands.

....although I'm sure a few people of 'all ages' would be delighted to see more full size passenger trains at Melksham!!

[grahame]

....although I'm sure a few people of 'all ages' would be delighted to see more full size passenger trains at Melksham!!

Indeed.

From around 1600 members of the public who filled in our online survey, 515 said they would use the service at the weekends from "3 to 6 times per year" for shopping, and 301 would use it 7 to 12 times for shopping.  That's just from the sample who came to the TransWilts Rail website, and just for shopping.  You should then add in the 782 who'll use it to get to special events once or twice a year, and so on ...



Of course, the real underlying high volume traffic would be the commuter.   And in the same sample, 664 people said that a reliable service on the TransWilts would be an alterative for them instead of driving



That is a significant offer of new daily users - not just transfers from other trains (the dogleg via Bath for Trowbridge to Swindon traffic).

Data such as this helps to show just how / why there's such a strong case for a train service on the TransWilts that's better than the current "tokenistic" one. [Not my word choice originally - it came from someone who's senior in the industry and concerned in his job with the service on the line]

Further details from the report: http://atrebatia.info/report.html

[grahame]

Pictures of the show at http://www.wellho.net/mouth/3239_TrainWest-2011-in-pictures-Christie-Miller-Bowerhill-Melksham.html

[Ollie]

Thinking of going to visit tomorrow

[Chris from Nailsea]

From This is Wiltshire:

On track for success in Melksham

More than 2,000 people crowded into Wiltshire^s largest model railway exhibition in Melksham over the weekend.

Trainwest, at the Christie Miller Sports Centre, Bowerhill, had 65 exhibits and stalls, including 25 working model railways, to tempt enthusiasts.

People of all ages, from across the country, make the trip to the annual exhibition.

Organiser Geoff Endacott said: ^Attendance was up on last year and everything seemed to go fairly well. The total number through the doors was just over 2,000, which is pretty much what we expected. We were pleased to get that many given the fair weather. There were a lot of families with young children, which was nice to see.

^As a measure of our success the advance tickets at Melksham Tourist Information Centre, Christie Miller and the Gas Cupboard in Westbury were all sold out in advance for the first time ever.^

This year for the first time the organisers laid on a shuttle bus to the event from Chippenham railway station, which proved popular.

However the event is in danger of moving out of west Wiltshire if a suitable new venue can^t be found by 2013.

The Christie Miller Sports Centre is due to close that year, and its planned replacement will not have adequate facilities to accommodate the show.

Mr Endacott said: ^It brings an awful lot of people into the area, what a shame if it has to close in a couple of years.^

[Phil]

I have to say, the above doesn't accurately reflect my experience of the event.

I did enjoy the layouts - some more than others; a few were simply stunning - and I picked up a few books and useful bits and bobs, so overall it was far from a waste of time. However, the organisers really do need to pay a little bit more attention to making it a truly family friendly event.

Just one example (of several minor ones) sums it up, really. Each was insignificant and it would be churlish of me to list them all here, but taken together they add up to something needing to be tightened up - and I say this as an experienced events organiser myself, knowing from bitter experience how hard it is to get everything spot-on on the day.

There was a bit of a queue at the entrance when we got there. No more than four couples, the first of which was being issued with tickets and sold a programme, so the wait was minimal really. The point is though that there were two people manning the front desk. Both wore badges and matching shirts with logos on, so it was obvious they were organisers (this is a point in their favour). One was all smiles and helpfulness, chatting with the couple he was dealing with and happily answering their questions. The other chap though was sat with his head buried in a railway magazine, pointedly ignoring the other people standing in front of him patiently waiting. After a couple of minutes someone actually said to the friendly looking bloke, "Excuse me, can't your colleague there sell us a ticket?", at which the miserable git looked up and actually scowled! He sighed heavily and without a word (or needless to say a smile) peeled off two tickets and thrust his hand out, obviously longing for nothing more than to get back to his desperately interesting magazine article.

OK so I know it's a minor incident; but really - the front desk sets the tone for the whole visit, and at ^7 a time it's the paying public who very much enable these guys to hold events like this and get together with their friends. If people are made to feel like they're an inconvenience they simply won't turn up any more.

A five minute briefing session before the doors open, reminding everyone of their responsibility to the hobby (let alone the event) along with a reminder of the fire regulations and location of the first aid point etc is all it needs.

[grahame]

The miserable git shouldn't be front of house if he doesn't want to help the visitors to the show.   Don't get me going, Phil ... this sort of thing (IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion)) is far too common and indeed I was thinking of writing a "customer service" blog when I read your post.  I went to a meeting (rail) - group I didn't know - recently.  It was advertised in the railway press, and as requested I phoned ahead and actually had a good chat with the secretary.  Quite the reverse when I got there.  One gentleman checking off regulars on a list, another gruffly asks me for 2 pounds (visitors fee I knew I would have to pay). No "welcome".  No "do you live nearby".  No intro to a guest host. Just left to find a seat.   Interesting guest speaker in first half, slightly spoiled by audience discussing their own views on what he was saying amongst themselves.   Meeting faded at end - no "next meeting", no "will you be back / would you like to join" and indeed (come to think of it) there had been no "welcome to our guests".

Part of me wonders how they keep their membership up ... but then part of me thinks that perhaps they don't - they'e comfortable in their ways and don't want new blood which is significantly younger and more active than their own average (I can rarely say that these days).

I hope TrainWest stay in Melksham.  I'm aware of the closure of Christie Miller in a couple of years. We (that's us what lives in Melksham) should be looking to steer our forthcoming single site Campus which replaces it into something that can truely replace it - and all the other services that are being combined - with something that meets virtually every need and aspiration.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Wiltshire Times:

Model railway show returns to Melksham this weekend

Railway exhibition Trainwest will be held again at Melksham^s Christie Miller Sports Centre this weekend.

Exhibitions will include trains from the early years of the last century to the present day.

The event will be open from 10am to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.

Tickets are ^7 for adults, ^6 for pensioners, ^4 for a child or ^18 for a family ticket.

[grahame]

From the Wiltshire Times:

Model railway show returns to Melksham this weekend

Railway exhibition Trainwest will be held again at Melksham^s Christie Miller Sports Centre this weekend.

Exhibitions will include trains from the early years of the last century to the present day.

The event will be open from 10am to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.

Tickets are ^7 for adults, ^6 for pensioners, ^4 for a child or ^18 for a family ticket.

Thanks for posting this, Chris.   I'll almost certainly pop in.

Graham