First go at Playing/Operating or WHY in Public ever

Hi All              There I was attending a "Local Show" with the club and the secretary said "Right Kevin it is your turn"," it is quite easy, just follow the Timetable??" A model of the terminus station Hawkhurst on a branchline from Paddock Wood, there was "Hop Picker Specials", "Two Car trains, "Three Car Trains". Empty Goods trains", "Full Goods Trains",and "Shunting Moves", every time I made a mistake there was an Onlooker in the crowd to put me in my place, I did my best? The line has been closed for years. But I kept trying to run the trains out of order. The point switches were all laid out in front of me, the isolating were there also, and the retort of it is the easiest D C controller to use, and you want to use D C C?? is still ringing in my ears!                   all the best   Kevin

Now't like a bit of pressure to put you in your place! Well done for having the bottle tho! :)

Hi Ted                I'm lucky that it was not a big show, it would have been better if I had kept it up over the previous forty years??                                                               thank you for your reply  Kevin

Hi Kevin, well done, exhibitions are a bit full on, they are not like playing, whoops, operating your layout at home where if you pass a signal at stop or drive down the wrong way it does,nt matter, at a show its always at the back of your mind "am I doing this right, that guy watching looks like he knows I should be doing it differently, dammit the bloody loco has stalled, do I get the big hand from the sky? do I bang the layout and hope it will start again?", but you did it and hopefully you enjoyed it and want to do it again!!


Pete.     

The first one is always nerve wracking but you get the best legal high ever

It gets easier and the enjoyment doesn't wane. Keep at it.

I've got to agree with Nick, I've done a few over the years,
mostly running the clubs 00 layout N.E.Ware (well I thought
the name was clever!), but also, more recently, my own 0
gauge Inglenook - 'HAVATRY'.
This was built for front operation, to get newbies and juniors
involved, to encourage them in(to) the hobby, the clue is in
the name!
It's tiring, but enjoyable, you're cream crackered at the end
of the show and can't wait to get home, but can't wait for  
the next invite!


Jeff

Hi Pete           The worse of it is "The bloke who built the layout, 30 odd years ago is standing there" and he watching over his baby.And he is the one who knows the T/table, and then he says and you are using D C C??   all the best Kevin

Hi Nick AKA Woody                Yes you are quite correct. Maybe "Next Time"? but I must build my shunting puzzle, and get in some practice.And all being well I will perform better??   all the best  Kevin

Hi Jeff                        I almost forgot about the "Pins and Needles" in my right hand, and looking where the train/loco is going, as if you are an onlooker, and forgetting to look at the T/ Table, and then missing a move, and having trains in the wrong platform, and then, there is the fiddle yard, route selection/isolation, and after all it was the first time.    all the best  Kevin

I must admit that I never knew what to expect when I showed Linden Ford the first time. Luckily for me, my 9 year old son was there doing demonstrations whilst I did  the talking, explaining etc. I can also tell you that some things did go wrong, but that's just part of the show ! ;-);-) 

All in all, it's about having fun and then getting back home to rest those weary feet and sore voice box !! :mrgreen:

Cheers, Gary.

I'd bet it is always an onlooker that puts you in the place. Reminds me of the saying "those that can do and those that can't teach".
For what it's worth well done for having a go.
Andrew

Hi Gary                It is those "Back Scenes" that block your sight, having to stand up all the time, longing for a cuppa and then a "PNR".It would be nice to have an "Umpires High Chair" but impracticable, then you could see all, and work the T/Table.                                                   all the best   Kevin

Hi Chiefnerd     Exactly, everyone is there to Learn, Buy, and of course spot and point out mistakes, "Hecklers", and once you forget a shunt and leave a train in the wrong platform, or you forget to run round, the pressure builds up, especially on the first occasion.Well every new day, is a new experience, as long as the new day arrives, make hay while the sun shines and forget the "Hecklers"                                                   all the best  Kevin

Hi Kevin
I saw a layout once that had a small model of a television licence van on it with rotating antenna dish. In small letters on the side it said "rivet counter detection".
The spinning roof top dish was controlled by a switch behind the back scenes so the operators could stop it while pointing at a "heckler". It was an in joke but extremely funny as the "heckler" had no idea that they were being pointed out.
Andrew

I'd have liked to have seen that. the main thing is to enjoy it. It should not be that serious that if you make a mistake you feel like you are being made to feel awkward. Unfortunately I don't have the will to be too polite if hecklers were to have a go. I'd try initially but if they got under my skin, believe me they'd get it both barrels, whether it's the responsible thing to do or not. Tossers.

You are the one there trying to provide a bit of entertainment and have to start somewhere. They probably don't have the spine to give it a go. What I can't abide however are the operators who are just not interested in the audience. They don't engage and give the opinion that they are just there to have an operating session with their mates. I won't say play trains as it maybe more interesting if they did. They usually have been chipped with personality disorders and / or have had complete personality bypass.

You carry on as with every attempt you'll gain more experience both in crisis management and in dealing with the hecklers.

Good on you.

Toto

Kevin
Another had a train that included a freight wagon with opening side door. When the door slid open a vagrant "mooned" the crowd as it passed. I guess it could be used to make the same point.
Andrew

This point was discussed in an article in one of the magazines just recently and some pretty good points were made. Probably the most important one for me was suggesting that whilst there are the more serious modellers who present complete works of art in terms of hand built stock and their layouts, the big more commercialised shows are not necessarily the best place to gain the appreciation that they crave.

Yes, by all means it's good to have them there, of course it is as it is a big aspect of the hobby for some, but the majority of the people attending have paid good money to be entertained to a point. There are other shows where their skills can be better received to meet their true desire.

There is nothing wrong with displaying these models running to a timetable that entertains the paying public rather than trying to be so prototypical that it sends them to sleep. Remember it is quite often a family day out ( and you pay for the kids as well ) so I think there is a certain expectation that you play to the audience.

It may also go a bit of a way towards throwing off the stuffy image that the hobby still has to a degree. Embarrassing really. No wonder we struggle to sustain numbers when we are still promoting the hobby the way it was done thirty or more years ago.

Apologies for the rant

Toto

Hi Andrew               T V Detector Vans and Mooning Vagrants?? I'll mention them to the secretary, and will let you know his opinion.I have seen a Stable with a Nodding Horse, and various other knick knacks, but the secretary would not like to offend people who have paid to see the layouts .                         all the best   Kevin

Hi Toto                 I know the type of show that you mean, forty odd years ago I used to attend such shows in London, at theCentral Hall Westminster for one, and others in the capital, The Model Engineering Show, I think when I attended that I was on my way home from an early turn and I was looking at one exhibit, the next day my photo was in the Guardian with a made up quotation from me.But some people do go the "Whole Hog" with " Lathes",in fully equipped workshops, just like small factories, nothing wrong with that,when I was working I had all the money to spend but no time, so I splashed the cash on Holidays. But small local railway shows are friendly really and the "Hecklers" are all part of it, they paid to come in and watch, so let them get on with it. all the best  Kevin

Hi Kevin,
Glad you had some fun. First thing that went on a holiday Saturday in the 1930's - 1960's was the timetable. A few traffic jams with trains on the ridings are quite prototypical. As was running very late.
Nigel