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A rather different venue from our usual at Model Railway Exhibitions. This time at a FULL SIZE, 12 inch to the foot railway venue.
The invite to this venue came from BlueArrowTS with the blessing of the Severn Railway Railway and we were located at Bewdley
in the Buffet Room adjacent to the Refreshment room. Once we gained access to the room we were soon setup and running. As
Leviathan1949 didn't have the route installed we spent a little time copying the route and stock from Neutronics shuttle to
Leviathan1949's shuttle via our trusty 10Mb network hastily installed under the table.
Soon after opening the doors to the public, Martin S-C (Saddletank) and daughter Megan (LMS) joined us along with Fodda and Mrs F. plus
a good number of the BlueArrowTS team, Kim Durose, Terry Thornton (Duckweed), Hymek, Mike Hambly (BlueArrowTS) etc.
It was
a beautiful weekend weatherwise and several thousand visitors came to the Severn Valley Railway Steam Gala weekend. A calculated inspiration
suggested that over 1000 people dropped in to see the UKTrainSim demonstration in the buffet over the two days we were there and they
were in awe of what they saw.
There was considerable interest in the route and over 300 pre-order forms were taken away by
visitors. One lady telephoned the booking hall for information about the route and Leviathan1949 was summoned to the booking hall
to speak to the lady in question. We had one gentleman so inspired by what he had seen that he thrust his pre-order form and a
cheque into Cab-Its hand before he left. Two others wanted to hand over cash there and then, these were directed to BlueArrowTS.
We were also visited on the Saturday by one of the Severn Valley Railway directors who stayed for some considerable time watching the
demonstrations and the looks on the faces of the visitors. It was interesting to see that some of the visitors spent a considerable
time at the demonstration. Chairs had been provided and some of our visitors stayed over an hour as we drove the full length
of the route. One elderly couple who joined us on the Sunday morning to watch were obviously from the local area as at one point
the gentleman was heard to say 'Blimey Margaret, that's our house'. Such is the quality of the route that local residents
can pick things out so easily.
On the Sunday afternoon two more of the Severn Valley Railway Directors visited us and sat chattiing and watching for a considerable time.
The question was then asked would we be returning for the Diesel Gala weekend in October on the 3rd, 4th and 5th. A brief discussion
followed and we agreed to return on the 4th and 5th October. Hopefully we will find a B&B or guest house a little closer to the
Severn Valley Railway for the diesel gala weekend as the closest we could find for the steam gala weekend was Harvington, just north
of Evesham, some 35 miles away.
Overall this was a fantastic weekend. Many thanks to all the people who came along and helped us demonstrate. Thanks to the BlueArrowTS team
for dropping in, chatting and taking a turn at the controls. Thanks also to the general public for their enthusiasm and support. Lastly
our thanks to BlueArrowTS and the Severn Railway Railway for inviting us to attend.
We will be attending the Severn Valley Railway Diesel Gala on Sat 4th and Sun 5th October 2003 and we look forward to seeing as many
of you there as possible. If you haven't seen the Severn Valley Railway route, this is a grand opportunity to see it in its full glory.
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