The Chatham Show 20/21 july 2024 Returns to Chatham Dockyard

[Chatham.mrc]

On 21/07/2024 at 22:46, greatcoleswoodhalt said:

Thoroughly enjoyable show - great selection of layouts and traders in a pretty perfect venue - so spacious!

 

I used the Chatham Maritime Car Park opposite (as visited the M&S Outlet first), which by chance was marginally cheaper for the time I was able to visit.  No issue with spaces, though unsurprisingly much busier when I left around midday on Saturday (20th).

 

Re catering, the NAAFI Wagon also appeared to be doing a roaring trade throughout.  Although the queue moved quicker than the grill, I ended-up grabbing a bite back at the outlets en route to the car.

 

Thanks to everyone concerned, great achievement - look forward to returning in Jul'25.

Thank you for coming. We thought spacing things out would be best.

The NAAFI wagon. Sold out both days. They had there best ever weekend selling

 

See you in 25🙌🏻

Cheers James 

Edited July 24 by Chatham.mrc
Update

[Chatham.mrc]

7 hours ago, fulton said:

As one of the 'old guard' so pleased to see Jamie and his team do so well, I know just how much work is involved, often it is the non model railway parts that cause the most problems, parking, catering etc. so sorry not to have been there, already had the RIAT air show booked before the date was confirmed, otherwise would have been there with a layout. Well done to all. Jamie see you at Sevenoaks next Sunday.

Thank you 🙌🏻 your advice when we first spoke was very helpful and your support.

 

Yes the issues are all minor and easy things to get dealt with. 

 

See you on Sunday 

Cheers James 

[Chatham.mrc]

On 22/07/2024 at 13:09, Peterem said:

A very fine show and a fine set of layouts, as others have said. Nice to be back in the Dockyard, although I found myself missing the traditional torrential downpour. Maybe they've upgraded the drains in recent years.

 

A quick question. There was a discount for Dockyard entry, which I was too shattered to take up this year.  Was any thought given to reciprocal discounts the other way, so people who already had dockyard tickets could get into the show for less?  I saw quite a few people wander up to the fence outside, and more peering over the wall from the Lifeboat Museum in the shed next door. Even if there aren't discounts, some show publicity aimed in that general direction might garner a few more punters.

Haha yes a couple people also said its not a Chatham show without the rain but I wasn't complaining. They have had alot of work done on the roof.

So unfortunately there wasn't that was. If we had giving us the venue for free or or a lower price we would have definitely done something. But we need to make sure we make our money back

Cheers James 

Edited July 24 by Chatham.mrc
Update

[sjp23480]

12 minutes ago, Chatham.mrc said:

We have a few issues due to the dockyard that we want to discuss.

James,

 

At one point the dockyard staff were turning cars away and telling them to park in the outlet (me included).  This was a little frustrating as plenty of space was available.  As I walked past, the staff had disappeared so cars were just driving in and I saw several people making their way from the CP into the expo.

 

The recompense was that the outlet parking was only £1.25 for the 3 hours that I stayed.  Swings and roundabouts.

 

Didn't bother to queue for the food and went to the outlet to eat - I had to go that way anyway to pick up the car!!! 😉

 

Considering this was your first expo - I think you should be proud - well done and hope to meet you next year!

 

Steve

 

[Chatham.mrc]

On 22/07/2024 at 15:35, sjp23480 said:

James,

 

At one point the dockyard staff were turning cars away and telling them to park in the outlet (me included).  This was a little frustrating as plenty of space was available.  As I walked past, the staff had disappeared so cars were just driving in and I saw several people making their way from the CP into the expo.

 

The recompense was that the outlet parking was only £1.25 for the 3 hours that I stayed.  Swings and roundabouts.

 

Didn't bother to queue for the food and went to the outlet to eat - I had to go that way anyway to pick up the car!!! 😉

 

Considering this was your first expo - I think you should be proud - well done and hope to meet you next year!

 

Steve

 

Yeah we have had some issues But it's stuff with can discuss and get sorted.

Yeah the food was a issue. Tbf I went over there to get my own food later in the evening. 

And thank you. Pretty much all of the club members it was there first time doing one. Was only around 6 or 7 that was involved previously.

 

Cheers James 

Edited July 24 by Chatham.mrc
Update

[Greengiant]

James, thanks for inviting The Yard, we enjoyed ourselves.

 

Plus points:

The Chatham show of old is back.

The very wide aisles.

Easy unloading being able to bring our cars right up to the stand space.

The very helpful PAT tester.

The tea and coffee stand was in our aisle.

Our stand space.

The food when you got it was good.

We liked the light levels, our layout lighting did not have to fight with other sources.

 

Negative points (I know you are aware of these):

The catering, we were much wiser on the Sunday. We got in quick for the bacon rolls, but that still took 20 mins, lunch was a 45 min wait. Saturday we were caught out, bacon rolls about 30 mins, but lunch we did not manage to get until 4pm after beginning to realise the queue was not going to reduce.

Packing up was easy enough until it came to getting the cars in to load. We waited a long time, in the end, parked up in the car park and carried our stuff out. It was odd because there was a lot of room in the space for cars.

The long trek to the exhibitor parking, so everything had to be with the stand just in case.

The toilet facilities, this was much better when someone advised us there were good toilets with washing facilities in the Dockyard cafe just opposite the show.

 

I think you and your team did a Stirling job, especially as it was your first and what a show to start with. If I were a visitor, I would have been pleased with the number of stands and the space.

 

Martin

[Chatham.mrc]

On 22/07/2024 at 18:25, Greengiant said:

James, thanks for inviting The Yard, we enjoyed ourselves.

 

Plus points:

The Chatham show of old is back.

The very wide aisles.

Easy unloading being able to bring our cars right up to the stand space.

The very helpful PAT tester.

The tea and coffee stand was in our aisle.

Our stand space.

The food when you got it was good.

We liked the light levels, our layout lighting did not have to fight with other sources.

 

Negative points (I know you are aware of these):

The catering, we were much wiser on the Sunday. We got in quick for the bacon rolls, but that still took 20 mins, lunch was a 45 min wait. Saturday we were caught out, bacon rolls about 30 mins, but lunch we did not manage to get until 4pm after beginning to realise the queue was not going to reduce.

Packing up was easy enough until it came to getting the cars in to load. We waited a long time, in the end, parked up in the car park and carried our stuff out. It was odd because there was a lot of room in the space for cars.

The long trek to the exhibitor parking, so everything had to be with the stand just in case.

The toilet facilities, this was much better when someone advised us there were good toilets with washing facilities in the Dockyard cafe just opposite the show.

 

I think you and your team did a Stirling job, especially as it was your first and what a show to start with. If I were a visitor, I would have been pleased with the number of stands and the space.

 

Martin

Hello Martin.

 

Thank you for coming and the kind words.

Yes all of those things have been noted.

As I have said above the burger van sold us a dream and didn't deliver. I didn't even get a burger or bacon roll myself.

We are already in talks on something better for next year.

Yes toilets was not ideal we will do better for next year

Yes the parking was not ideal. We was ment to have someone do shuttle services but unfortunately things changed which ruined it.

It's something we need to look into. The problem is if we parked everyone in the car park opposite it. It would have cost us well over £2grand in parking fees over the weekend.

And the set up at the end. We was obviously learning how to do it ourselves as none of us had done it before. There was some miscommunications. But as I say for around 90% of the members who worked the show this was our first every show running it.

So I can only apologise for that

But we did some issues aswell which slowed it down.

 

Cheers James 

Edited July 24 by Chatham.mrc
Added more

[robertcwp]

I went to the show on Saturday and thought it was well worth the trip, even with the M25 roadworks. I arrived before opening time so was able to park in the Dockyard car park without any trouble. £3.50 for up to seven hours of parking was not a problem. I never use exhibition catering and always take my own supplies so that was not an issue for me.

 

I thought the wide variety of layouts was good for a mass-market show as there was something for everyone. I picked up a couple of bargains on trade stands too.

 

Some suggestions for next year:

 

Have more seating in the venue. This is important for those of an older generation and those with health issues that mean that standing up for long periods can be a problem.

 

Encourage all attending layouts to have lighting. It's really important given the shed can appear dark as so much daylight is visible outside the shed. 

 

Have a proper bookseller. There were some stands selling books but nothing such as D&E or Bill Hudson.

 

Have a more comprehensive vendor of tools, equipment, etc, such as Squires. I was unable to purchase any of the items I had on my shopping list.

[Modelrailwayquest]

Well done James and the team, myself and Brief Encounter - Monochrome had a great weekend there and nice to catch up with so many friends.  I have highlighted many of the great layouts in the video below

 

 

[terry.ecmr]

Thanks for inviting Rossiter Rise. 

 

We enjoyed the show!

[Matt]

On 22/07/2024 at 14:54, Chatham.mrc said:

Thank you for coming. This was my first exhibition I've organised. 

But for the club it's first show in 6 years and first one is this location in 12 years.

 

The wide aisles is something I always wanted. It also helps with set up and brake down as vehicles can park at there stand to upload and load.

 

Yes as I've said in above messages the burger van let us down. I didn't even get to have one myself.

 

Cheers James 

As someone who has organised a few large events (bonfire and fireworks displays) I know from personal experience that it’s impossible to ever get everything right!! All I’ll say is that I  wish my first event was as well organised as your show…. Well done!

[Chatham.mrc]

3 hours ago, robertcwp said:

I went to the show on Saturday and thought it was well worth the trip, even with the M25 roadworks. I arrived before opening time so was able to park in the Dockyard car park without any trouble. £3.50 for up to seven hours of parking was not a problem. I never use exhibition catering and always take my own supplies so that was not an issue for me.

 

I thought the wide variety of layouts was good for a mass-market show as there was something for everyone. I picked up a couple of bargains on trade stands too.

 

Some suggestions for next year:

 

Have more seating in the venue. This is important for those of an older generation and those with health issues that mean that standing up for long periods can be a problem.

 

Encourage all attending layouts to have lighting. It's really important given the shed can appear dark as so much daylight is visible outside the shed. 

 

Have a proper bookseller. There were some stands selling books but nothing such as D&E or Bill Hudson.

 

Have a more comprehensive vendor of tools, equipment, etc, such as Squires. I was unable to purchase any of the items I had on my shopping list.

Thank you for coming.

I tried to select a good selection of layouts. I did have some other different ones but unfortunately had a few drop out so found replacements with what I could.

 

Yes we underestimated the seating. It's something that's on my list for change for next year.

 

Yes the lighten was a hard one and is a learning curve. I wasn't sure how it would go with it.

 

I shall have a look for those style sellers.

 

I did email squares back in June last year before we announced the show but unfortunately they never replied.

[Chatham.mrc]

1 hour ago, Modelrailwayquest said:

Well done James and the team, myself and Brief Encounter - Monochrome had a great weekend there and nice to catch up with so many friends.  I have highlighted many of the great layouts in the video below

 

 

Thank you Dawn. And thank you for the shout out and getting my surname correct haha.

It's a great video. So thank you

 

See you Sunday at your show.

[Chatham.mrc]

1 hour ago, terry.ecmr said:

Thanks for inviting Rossiter Rise. 

 

We enjoyed the show!

Thank you Terry.

 

Was a pleasure having you attend and I enjoyed having a good laugh and joke with you haha

[Chatham.mrc]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

As someone who has organised a few large events (bonfire and fireworks displays) I know from personal experience that it’s impossible to ever get everything right!! All I’ll say is that I  wish my first event was as well organised as your show…. Well done!

Thank you Matt. We tried to think of everything to make life easier. Couple problems but we can sort that 

[Chatham.mrc]

Well after a nice little break from it all last few weekends well apart from trading at a couple of shows.

 

I had a lot of people ask me on attendance and i can confirm that it was 2139 not including exhibitors and club members which for our first show back we are very happy with.

 

Id also like to announce that THE CHATHAM SHOW will return next year on the 19th and 20th of July 2025.

With better catering haha

A new post for that will be started soon.

 

If there are any layouts interested please email your details to info@chatham.show

I already have a big list of layouts who i have spoken to and some i will be emailing in next couple weeks

The aim is to have over 45 layouts again.

 

Cheers James

 

[brightspark]

That number sounds very good to me. Especially as it is in effect  a new show.

Thanks for sharing numbers, as an exhibitor, I am always keen to hear what the gate is.

Also, thank you for inviting the EMGS and Daisy Sidings. We were quite busy both days.