Visit to the clouds, TMTEX 2012

 All too much for Daz, and it's just day one!

 Marty, Ted, and I trying to hold it together for a photo, no chance really

 SSC with the Modellers award shield I was able to hang for the day on Sunday

The Toowoomba Model Train Expo has come and gone for another year, and what a weekend it was. I cannot praise the members of the DDMRC enough for the effort they put into planning and preparation for their show each year. 


Darren and I arrived early on Friday morning and set about organising the display for the weekend. Friday really ended up being a very social day with our initial plans of using it for a day of modelling soon evaporating. 


There was an Motorcycle Auction on with quite a few Indians up for grabs, with a few very valuable pieces, or so we were led to believe. I learnt a valuable lesson though and thought it worth sharing here. We were in line waiting for our hot morning tea and Darren struck up a conversation with one of the motorcycle enthusiasts. Darren has a fantastic general knowledge on subjects so far reaching it always surprises me. He began talking about the ignition system and the angle of the actual ignition (?), now the guy he was talking to immediately thought that Daz was another motorcycle fan and asked him what he was interested in, in the auction. When Daz fessed up that we were part of the Model Railway Exhibition the guy literally turned his back and ceased all contact with us. Now to the point, we need to make sure we don't exclude any new interest into our hobby because it doesn't fit in with our particular part of the hobby, after all very few of us have always been railway modellers. We may have been people that were keen to start, but not quite sure how, what would be our impression of the hobby after that first impression, keen to continue? Probably not!


The rest of Friday was pretty hectic, especially for Daz, as the photo above shows. Actually it really did go fast, bed time at 8pm!  ;-)


Saturday came and after the regular cooked breakfast  it was on with the show! The show in my opinion was a little quieter this year, very definitely due to the weather outside. Rain and fog, followed by heavier rain is not a good thing for any show.


As is usual most of the weekend was spent catching up with modellers, and answering many questions. That's the best part isn't it? I really didn't get much time to get about the other layouts, but the few I did see were fantastic. Geoff Mcmahon had his new layout there, and I just love how he creates a scene with such intricate detail, he continues to inspire me. 


The Saturday night had me a little surprised, chuffed, excited, embarrassed even, as I was awarded the NMRA Modellers Award for the show this year. I had no idea or expectation regarding the selection, it was an honour to be selected by such a great group of guys, thank you for the experience, I'm still a little stunned!


Daz and Brendan, thanks for company, help and friendship. Daz thanks again for stepping in at the last minute as tour director. Sorry for the late posting, but I've been away camping this past week, but that's for another blog surely!


Oorroo!
Geoff.