Sydney Model Railway Exhibition

Still can't get used to the fact it has moved, still want to call it Liverpool. This is the first time I have visited Peakhurst. Living on the other side of Sydney it is a fair way to go. The venue is fine, access is not perfect being on a busy intersection. Parking was available on the oval near the hall, fortunately the weather was fine and dry. There could have been better signage leading from the carpark to the hall though. The carpark was half full when I arrived late Sunday morning but seemed nearly empty 2 or 3 hours later. The Thomas ride was down steep stairs from a side door. Must have been fun getting down with a couple of kids.

Noticed this exhibition has been very heavily promoted, even my local paper had an add in it last week. They must have a large advertising budget, wonder if it was worthwhile. There was a queue when I first arrived and to the organisors credit they had 2 tickets booths which kept the queue moving. Well done and important when it was quite warm in the sun outside, would have been worse in wet weather. Entry cost was high, $10 for adults is the highest around as could be expected for the largest exhibition I guess.

The adds mentioned nearly 90 stands, the guide said 77, is that close enough to be nearly? It is more than anywhere else in Sydney that is for sure. The layout of the hall seemed strange, there was plenty of room in some areas including a large open spot near stands 65 to 72 yet it was quite crowded in the corners.

The layouts presented a good variety of prototypes and scales. A couple of exceptional ones were Eskbank, a early era layout and Hope Coast a simple small display with clever and well executed scenery. The only under represented scale was large scale. There were several layouts that were new to me and some old friends too.

The trade stands had a good range of products with a little duplication. There were several good buys for the bargain hunters too. The catering seemed ok but service was a little slow sometimes.

A quality show with a good range of exhibits and worth a visit but will I attend next year? Maybe but more likely every 2 or 3 years not each year.