Traveling to England, France, Germany

[mounteer]

We are leaving for 5 weeks travel to England, France, Germany, ??. Does anyone have some must stop and see places for Model Railroading? Hobby Shops, Museums, Manufactures, Railroad Spotting Areas, etc. I would love to find the must places to visit. I am sure my wife will find many quilting shop, so I need my FIX.
Thanks,
Grant Mounteer
Eureka, Montana

[simon1966]

I just got back from the UK, France and Switzerland. One good thing about England, is that there are frequent train shows at the weekend. As soon as you arrive in England, go into WH Smiths, or another good newsagent and pick up a copy of Railway Modeller Magazine, http://www.peco-uk.com/rm/rm_home.htm and check out the "Whats on" section to see if there are any trainshows in the areas that you are going to visit. If you are in the South/Southwest, the West Somerset Railway http://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/ is well worth a trip, as well as the Bluebell line http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/ In the North of England, The National Railway Museum in York http://www.nrm.org.uk/html/home_pb/menu.asp is well worth a visit. There are a lot of model RR shops in the UK. There are a couple of small ones that I always try to visit in the Thames Valley, because they are convenient to my Brothers house, but not especially worth a special trip (The Marlow Donkey in Cookham, and a small store in Bourne End, Bucks). If you are interested in watching a high density of British modern main line passenger trains in action, the station at Taplow (Between Windsor and Maidenhead) is a lovely old station with a footbridge over the tracks. I took my boys here 2 weeks ago and we got treated to about a dozen trains in less than an hour. Oh, I almost forgot, Didcot in Oxfordshire is a great place to visit as well http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/

As for France, not much help. A TGV ride is a must!

Have a great time, just don't bother converting prices into dollars, it hurts too much!!

[jwr_1986]

Miniatur Wunderland. http://www.miniatur-wunderland.de/data/cms/en/000/ I think it was in the February issues of MR last year. I believe it was called the worlds largest model railroad. Definately check that out. They even have a street that's motorized so the cars move and supposedly cars get out of the way when an emergency vehicle comes through. Really amazing stuff.

Jesse

[tutaenui]

My favourite spot in Europe is Lauterbrunnen near Interlaken in Switzerland. Its a real good winddown spot in the middle of a hectic tour. Apart from the shear beauty of the place you could ride a different narrow gauge railway (including some steam and 1914 box cab electrics) each day of the week without repeating yourself, not to mention 2 lakes with lake steamers, including paddlewheel, and many historic villages and towns. Dont know about quilting though!

[Anonymous]

Which bits of the UK are you planning to visit? If you're going anywhere near Bristol the Industrial Museum (and the city docks in general) are well worth a day or so of your time - they have a couple of operational steam locos and assorted cranes, etc, about 5mins walk away is the dry dock where "SS Great Britain" is being restored - website for these two are www.bristol-city.gov.uk/mus/bim.htm and www.ss-great-britain.com/ respectively. If you're looking for train shops, take a look at www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/ - they have a directory of shops sorted by county and with reviews posted by visitors.

Regarding preserved railways, if you go to www.railcar.co.uk and look under "societies" you'll find a few - this site is run by the Railcar Association (a group set up to bring together owners of 1st-generation diesel railcars) and has plenty of useful information - the groups they list usually have links to the line they operate over. If you're near North Wales I'd recommend the Llangollen Railway (they have a link through that site) - they operate both steam and diesel locos and it's a superb bit of landscape too. Hope this is of use!

[ndbprr]

Don't know about Great Britain but many European countries have value added taxes which will be deducted if taking something out of the country. Nearly every merchant has the forms so if you see something you want to consider buying talk with the sales people before agreeing to the pricing.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ndbprr

Don't know about Great Britain but many European countries have value added taxes which will be deducted if taking something out of the country. Nearly every merchant has the forms so if you see something you want to consider buying talk with the sales people before agreeing to the pricing.

Yup, that's how it works here too - VAT is only paid by buyers within the European Union, if you're from a state outside (as the USA is) you can claim it back (or you may not have to pay it in the first place - not sure what the specifics are).

[tatans]

Must go to Kensington Science Museum in London, superb collection of steam, railway and transportation themes,large and small.

[mounteer]

I want to thank every one who has replied. Great information that I will use. We will be staying about 2 weeks in London with friends. We will be renting a car and traveling in
France, Germany and Switzerland. After living in Asia Pacific for 10 years, this is our first trip to Europe.
Thanks again for the tips on the VAT.

[BR60103]

In London, visit the main termini: Paddington, Victoria, Waterloo. Kings Cross and St Pancras are in a bit of construction. London Transport museum at Covent Garden. Get a London Transport pass (from your travel agent before you leave); it's so much better than buying individual journey tickets and the zone 1-6 pass is good for railways as well (also gets you a discount on longer journeys!).
Near Didcot is Pendon Museum -- model railways BUT limited opening hours.
Narrow gauge railways in Wales -- lots connect with the big railway.
If you get to West Country -- Pecoram (Beer, Seaton, Devon) see website.
Take train south to Ford Station, Arundel for the Engine Shed/Gaugemaster. Big hobby shop and power pack maker across the street. Take wife to Arundel Castle (next station).
Hobby shops few in London (rent?).
Victoria Station: bookshops usually overflowing with railway magazines and books (guides to all the equipment). Go out the back and find the bridges over the tracks -- trains run like a subway service.

[tutaenui]

Just a late thought if you are looking to do much travel by train be aware that standard Euro train fares are bloody expensive. Make sure you inquire about rail passes. These are good value and quite flexiable. They range from multi country passes to regional ones all with varied time availability. Some must be purchased before you depart, others can be bought at the local station. Some of these passes offer first class travel which is a plus as generally you dont have to book to get a seat, unlike second class. Note also provision for large carry on luggage can be limited, particularly on Brit rail.