Only Men of a Certain Age....

.... and their grandsons....

Gender stereotypes were well and truly intact at the annual Salisbury Model Railway Exhibition, held this weekend at Wilton's Michael Herbert Hall.

This was my first visit - and to be honest - will be my last.

Don't get me wrong, the level of detail created and re-enacted is at times, astonishing. The five pounds entrance is OK, but I couldn't stay more than an hour.

Trying to twirl an over 2kg combination of my old unstabilised Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 and D7100 in an overcrowded hot hall, where fingers and hands - and heads - are always getting in the way. 

And the locos are miniature, as in TINY!

To the naked eye, it is easy to follow an old choo-choo along a track as it twists round bends, under bridges and into realistic sidings and sheds. However, trying to anticipate this, with minimal depth of field, manually focusing and most of my shots were at 200mm - that's equivalent to 300mm - and that still was not close enough!

I soon needed and enjoyed a cheap homemade small slice of Dundee cake, cheese and red onion sandwiches and strong mug of tea, all for just £2.80, ( I wouldn't even DARE to suggest who made them, just that the males of the species had their hands permanently full with knobs and levers and electrical bits'n'bobs) - which then set me up for some nice local landscapes nearby, which was far more enjoyable.

I do like this shot and a few others and it was a good challenge, but like anything a little "specialist", it is not always that easy to appreciate the subject and those who are passionate about it.