Cane River and Winnfield Rock.

[danielb]

Now I've had some time to rest and relax a while, I thought I'd post my thoughts on the TVNAM 2014 exhibition and how I felt Cane River performed.

The Exhibition

For a fan of US model railroads, this is THE event in the UK, with some truly fantastic exhibitors coming from all over the UK to show off their creations. The full list of layouts can be found on the TVNAM website - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.tvnam.co.uk/layouts.htm">http://www.tvnam.co.uk/layouts.htm</a><!-- m -->

For the modeler after some new toys, N and HO scale modelers were VERY well catered for, though traders did seem lacking in O Scale products - something I am sure will be addressed for next years show.

I would have loved to have been a visitor to the event, as there were some spectacular layouts on show, which unfortunately I had little time to see as I was a one man crew for my own layout, so didn't have anyone to cover for me so I could have a look around - entirely my own fault, but I'll be sure to take this into consideration for next year - yes I will be back, so long as the organizers will have me!

On that note...

Cane River



I was very pleased with the layout, especially considering I was still working on it at 2am the morning of the event! It was easy to set up, the lighting worked perfectly, after a good clean the night before, there was minimal stalling - mainly on the turnouts due to dirt building up over the course of the day. A quick scrub with a track cleaning rubber and everything was good as new!

Switching proved a challenge, and I was very surprised at quite how intense switching the layout would be - swapping cars out on the team track and scrap yard took all my attention, and the occasional shuttling of freight cars to the lumber yard and warehouse were a welcome break between switch jobs.

The Kato couplers I added onto my freight stock were both a help and a hindrance. That they were compatible with the Microtrains, McHenry and Accumate couplers on the rest of my stock was great, but they did prove a little problematic in getting Accumate and McHenry couplers to connect up when switching. I think I shall reserve them for when switching fixed rakes of cars like grain and cement hoppers in future.

Tanks cars proved the most challenging to switch as - whilst I only had 2 of them - ensuring there was a barrier car between them and the switching loco proved quite difficult due to the space restrictions in the spurs and the run around. I shall definitely be ensuring they make an appearance in each exhibition I attend in future.

Motive power was provided for most of the day by my two latest acquisitions: an MKT U25B and a Southern Pacific GP40 - both Atlas locos and both came DCC fitted as standard. Both perform excellently, and I shall definitely be returning to the traders I got them from in future.




All in all, a great day was had, both operating and exploring the exhibition, though a more even balance of both would have been preferable.

For those of you who are in the UK, mark the date for next year - you won't regret it!