This weekend, on April 27th and 28th, On The Rails will be trading at the NEC in Birmingham for the first time. We have been invited to take part in a brand-new event called Model World Live which features over 35 model railway layouts, scale modelling displays with trains, planes, cars, trucks and more, demonstration and hands-on events and full size vehicles including a tank, a truck and a diesel locomotive under restoration!
The showpiece of the event is ‘Making Tracks: The Final Frontier’, a model railway that has been built by Pete Waterman and his team of Railnuts which has previously been displayed in a shorter form (208ft long) at Chester Cathedral and Milton Keynes. At the NEC Model World Love Event, Pete and his team are aiming for an official Guinness World Record for a portable model railway layout by extending the layout to 250ft long. Consider how massive this is when you think that this 250ft length is only the scenic section, and there is another 250ft length on the other side and two curved end sections to complete an oval of running model railway.
We were previously trading alongside the Making Tracks model layout at Milton Keynes in October 2022 where they had over 10,000 visitors across the weekend and for us it was our most successful event yet.
This is very exciting to be part of this show – it will open On The Rails up to new audiences and enthusiasts from military, aviation and nautical modelling as well as being amongst an event where I expect the draw of Pete Waterman and his layout will mean that the local and national press are present. To really engage with the market in Birmingham, we have drawn some new train designs to celebrate the West Coast Mainline that runs through the city and is the railway modelled by Making Tracks plus we have wooden pin badges with military aircraft and trains.
You can find out more and book your advance tickets and save over on the door prices by visiting http://www.keymodelworld.com/modelworldlive/tickets.
