It is now a week since I came home from the Market Deeping Model Railway Club’s Stamford Model Railway Show and my knees still ache from standing around Innsdorf all day for two days! It was well worth it. Innsdorf rose to the challenge and was quite popular with visitors. The youngsters loved the quiz I had devised to help them to look at the scenic details, as did many adults. People loved watching the pantographs on the trains following the overhead wire, and of all the questions we were asked by far the most common was whether the trains really collected their current from the overhead. In case you are wondering, no they do not: they would not look any different but would be less reliable and there would be difficulty in shuffling trains in the fiddle yard.
On Friday afternoon in good time we loaded the car and then as soon as access to the venue became available we were off to set up. It only takes about half an hour to set up Innsdorf and then a few minutes to test that trains work, can cross the baseboard joins OK and do not snag the overhead wires. All was well.
On Saturday morning we started operating in good time before the public entered to make sure we that we could operate together and that the routines I had devised would work smoothly. Then we attended the opening ceremony at the front door and returned to await the first paving guests. Just as they walked into the hall a disaster occurred: suddenly the cable cars stopped, the street lighting went out and the “A” controller stopped working. We managed to continue operating for the rest of the day, however, for the “B” controller can control the whole layout but it did mean that we could only run one train at a time, which was not as entertaining as we had planned. By switching off the non-functioning cable cars and lights, there was just enough current to light the signals and the building lights.
When the public left at the end of the day I opened the control panel and traced the fault in about two minutes and had it all working within five and slept soundly on Saturday night. On Sunday morning all was working well and we were able to shunt wagons while passenger trains came and went. The cable cars which generate a lot of noise and are a nuisance at home were not too bad in the exhibition space. The fault did recur a few times and now that the layout is at home I must give the electrics some serious attention and fix the problem for good. The layout was very popular with those who visited it, but I think it would be much more fun for them if we could have everything going at once as intended.
We were not the only Swiss-themed layout at the show, and by chatting with the owner of the other one I was able to act on a tip and buy a couple of Bernina Express panoramic coaches, so if I should be invited to show Innsdorf again it will feature the Bernina Express as well as the Glacier Express!
It was a great couple of days. I do hope to have another chance to show Innsdorf. It’s lovely to meet people and answer their questions, and to “sell” Switzerland as a destination, too!
Innsdorf Modellbahn 