How much does Warley cost

For those going to Warley this weekend, I was wondering how much money you take with you and what the day costs you in total?

I`ll start the ball rolling, diesel (not going by train!) £27, parking £7 = £34 travelling

There are two others with me and I guess they will offer around £10 each so it should cost me £14 ish + ticket £8 so around £22 just to get in plus another £15 for food throughout the day and pub stop on the way home.

I have already ordered three items which will cost around £120, so I know the day so far has cost me about £160!

On top of this I hope to take another £2-300, though I am sincerely hoping not to spend this amount as I am really only going for "bits" such as detailing parts, books etc. I buy most of my locos and rolling stock locally and unless there is something dirt cheap I would not consider buying a loco at the show.

I wonder what the most anyone has spent at the show is?

Reply to
Piemanlarger
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If I told you that I would have to kill you. You might tell SWMBO.

MBQ

Reply to
manatbandq

How the other half live, a.

Reply to
David Smith

On 01/12/2005 14:22, Piemanlarger said,

I won't be going this year, because my budget for a spendfest is precisely zero, and you can never get to the layouts - I get fed up with being literally elbowed out of the way :-(

I have spent several hundred pounds in the past though... cash machines in the atrium combined with pass-out tickets is a fatal combination.

...but if I do go, it will be a "Sod it - let's go" decision at the last second :-)

Reply to
Paul Boyd

Too much in my opinion.

John.

Reply to
John Turner

Meaning?

Reply to
Piemanlarger

In what way? I get to see more layouts and traders at this show for £8 than any other i know of?

Reply to
Piemanlarger

Why start this thread and ask for other's opinions if all you want to do is argue?

Lighten up man.

David A Smith Copthorne. West Sussex

Reply to
David Smith

I did not ask for opinions, I asked for figures.

if all you want to do is

Im not arguing, but as your not able to add up, your answer is pretty usless given the nature of the thread.

Reply to
Piemanlarger

"Piemanlarger" wrote

I'm not sure I've got long enough to live to explain quite what I mean Simon, but it's a whole lot more than the cost of travel, entry and car parking.

I actually question whether the show is good for the hobby in any way at all. It impacts on other shows, the trade, the crazy way manufacturers manipulate the simultaneous release of new products to coincide with the Show. The cost of trading there and a whole lot of other issues too.

I think it's too big to be able to take everything in in a single weekend, let alone a single day. It impacts big style of peoples' spending patterns for weeks ahead, etc. etc..

Maybe that gives you an inkling into the way I'm thinking.

John.

Reply to
John Turner

I'm going to the Reading trade show as i have never enjoyed travelling to the NEC

Ian Gearing

Reply to
Ian Gearing

Well, it does give the punter a chance to see new releases, pick up some small items not usually seen at smaller shows and local shops and gives you alot of layouts and other things to see. So for the punter, its a good deal.

Well, i can see that it could inmpact on other shows held this weekend. If there was a show in Cardiff this weekend, I would not be going. But then the Cardiff /all other shows has 51 other weeks to choose from?

You mean trade on your shop is hit? Surley every show must be able to do this?

the crazy way manufacturers

You have to assume they are looking to release a product to the maximum number of potential customers at once. Seems good business sense? I do admit though that it pees me off as you have to force yourself to save all through the year!

I can image trading is overpriced as I know traders who go to the various big Bike shows there. Its not so much what you sell on the day they tell me but what you pick up through the year from meeting new people.

Before last year we had always gone on the Saturday and granted did not see everything due to the numbers. Last year we went on sunday and it was great. Everyone crowds the traders as soon as dooors open which means layouts are viewable. Then, just after lunch when the layouts started to become more crowded we went shopping! We saw everything we wanted to see by 4.30 and left.

It impacts big style of peoples' spending patterns

Some it does some it does not? I have left £170 on my "card" with my local trader. He gives me good deals all year, always offers a cup of coffee and a friendly chat and tonight when I returned my failed thunderbird was more than happy to let me test run 3 other thunderbirds and take my pick. Now service like this deserves support and so I am only going to Warley for the things i cant get elsewhere, or as in the case of britania mdels I would have ordered via mail order.

It would seem to me John that perhaps your customers are not as loyal as they should be?

Simon

Reply to
Piemanlarger

"Piemanlarger" wrote

It certainly 'screws' shows held on the same weekend, but even the long-standing Manchester Show has had to change its dates around on more than one occasion to avoid clashing with Warley.

I don't really, we're far enough away for it to have too much impact on our sales - alright it will have some minor effect but that's not enough for me to worry about.

I know people who will save up for three months just to be sure they will be able to take a 'bundle' to Warley, and I'm not talking about my customers. This must have an effect on their local model shop - assuming they've got one.

John.

Reply to
John Turner

I resumed being interested in model railways fairly recently after a lengthy gap in which I didn't pay any attention to them. The Warley show seems to have emerged during this gap. Can someone fill me in on when and how this event has grown to such mega-prominence?

Andy

Reply to
Andy Kirkham

I'm mostly with Simon on this one.

Yes the show is the 'ugly' head of commerce in obvious fashion but lets look at the real situation from (for example) my own situation. I have a fairly decent local model shop stock-wise but there are no demo layouts so no real way to test stuff out. No 'New Releases' section or information other than badgering the shop staff some who are quite knowledgeable and others that aren't. Then realistically only a limited amount of stock is available at a shop and if browsing I wouldn't always know if it was even available.

Then there are shops web sites, most of them are not up to much (apologies to those who struggle just to maintain what they have) many don't have stock lists or photos so I would only consider approaching these if I knew exactly what I wanted to buy - no way to browse stuff. Hattons has a lot of stuff on it but it is not massively easy to navigate unless again you know what manufacturer or part you are after. Many places still don't separate OO and N etc so it makes it easier to browse.

And then there is the wondeful spectacle of seeing other people's layouts in glorious array which is obviously a show thing and Warley does it the biggest and therefore the best!?

So I can buy almost anything rail related from the show, stuff I didn't even know I wanted or existed so I can treat myself on Saturday.

Luke

Reply to
Luke Briner

Luke Briner said the following on 02/12/2005 10:53:

I think Warley is one of the biggest, but, speaking from a personal point of view, I don't think it's the best. I find it too crowded, and it takes a very long time to get to the front to see layouts (unless you use those afore-mentioned elbows). This means that you can't really take it all in in one day.

Again from a purely personal point of view, a lot of the layouts there aren't layouts I would travel to see. I'm not knocking them at all, they're just not my scene - would you travel to see a very good Network South East N gauge layout, if your interests are 1880s Midland Railway? (Hypothetically speaking!) This means that there aren't sufficient layouts that do warrant travelling. I'll wait until they appear at Taunton!

After all this, I may still go, but it really will come down to whether I can brave the M5/M42, or actually find trains running without having to change umpteen times!

Reply to
Paul Boyd

Paul Boyd said the following on 02/12/2005 11:10:

Actually, scrub that bit! The first train leaving WSM on Sunday arrives at 12:34 - not entirely useful...

Reply to
Paul Boyd

In message , Luke Briner writes

Biggest? Yes. Best? Hmmm. I can see layouts at the shows local to me and those of us who live in south-east London: Beckenham & West Wickham, Scaleforum, Epsom & Ewell, to name but three that spring to mind. These also have trade stands at which I can browse and get those items that it's difficult to get mail order.

For buying stuff, I get my UK-outline mail order from a particular trader who regularly contributes to this newsgroup, I get my US-outline stuff from a mail-order house in Scotland, and I get my books from a trader in deepest darkest Wales. All of this is in addition to occasional visits to my local model shops, who hardly ever have anything that is on my wants lists. All my purchases from these sources are made by email, with if necessary a preliminary email conversation to ensure that what I am after is in stock or can be ordered. I will recommend these traders to anybody, because I am very satisfied with their service.

The last time I went to the National Exhibition Centre I had one of the most horrible journeys of my life (although the exhibition - not model railways - was wonderful), so I am not looking forward to going there ever again. I have no intention of going by car in early December since I do not want to get trapped overnight by a fall of snow, expected or unexpected, and the rail journey from here is pretty awful, especially if there are engineering works.

Reply to
Jane Sullivan

Andy,

I suspect that it was purely circumstancial. Previously, the top show in the UK had been the London Easter show run by the Model Railway Club, but that show seemed to start losing its appeal during the 80s/90s period. I think I remember quite a bit of criticism about high costs, not enough layouts, inappropriate trade stands, etc., which all pointed to the organisers having major problems balancing costs against entry charges. I remember exhibiting a layout at the 75th anniversary exhibition in the 80s and that exhibition was held at Wembley Exhibition Centre and I remember wondering about how much that place had cost to hire for a week (the MRC exhibition ran for a week starting on Good Friday).

So as the big London Show went into decline, exhibitors, traders and manufacturers would have been looking for another venue to support and Warley appears to have been it. Quite how Warley made the big change from being a local show to being a major show at the NEC will probably have to be told by the people involved, but I suspect that it took a major act of faith on someone's part to do it, and sponsorship from commercial interests would have helped a lot.

Jim.

Reply to
Jim Guthrie

Phil: Virgin Trains from Reading on Sunday - the earliest departure is

10.00 arriving 11.30. Also last year it wqas so overcrowded, due to Clothes Show and oother attendees that it was stuck in on e statio for 15 minutes until people got off. Also, the Warley Railway show is not being promoted on the National Rail/NEC what's on or Virgin Websites - and toy have to register and log in on the Virgin site just to find out what the fare would be!!!! So I'm driving, 2 in the car. Guaranteed seat.
Reply to
Phil

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