At the same time with Finnish Craft and Design: XXXV National Railway Modelling Event
News 15.09.2017
In addition to the Finnish Craft & Design Fair, the Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre will host two other interesting events at the same time: the XXXV Railway Modelling Event on Saturday and Sunday and the Dolls’ House Fair from Friday to Sunday. The Railway Modelling Event allows clubs, associations, museums, enthusiasts, professionals and sellers to showcase and sell their products and visitors can also see model trains running on tracks through detailed landscapes.
“The event is definitely worth visiting if you want to see Finland’s finest model railways and landscapes. Enthusiasts will meet like-minded people and get new ideas. If you are not familiar with railway modelling but are interested to find out more, the event offers an opportunity to learn about different hobby organisations and their activities in different parts of the country,” says Johan Sirén from the Pirkanmaa Railway Enthusiasts’ Club (Pirake ry).
The countries with the most model railway enthusiasts are Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States and worldwide there are millions of hobbyists. Impressive railways, careful details and of course the latest products are among the highlights of the event. On Saturday and Sunday, Hall D will feature, for example, an up to 90-metre track to which anyone can add their module, Finland’s longest fixed exhibition track as well as skilfully and accurately modelled Finnish railway sceneries and trains from the 1950s to the 1970s and train operations based on schedules.
Details and history – time flies when admiring the railways
“We have to compete with many things, like games, to capture children and young people’s interest. Thus the hobbyists in Finland and elsewhere are mainly grown men. Fortunately kids have again discovered this hobby,” Sirén says.
“In my opinion, the best aspects of this hobby are creating realistic reproductions and studying the related history. Many of my models are based on a real-life examples. With many railways, you can spend a long time admiring all the details,” Sirén says.
Interest in operating railways or building and craft skills
The European railway modelling community, FREMO, will also be present at the event. Its main form of activity is modular building. The use of modules makes it possible to build model railways at home.
“If you are not yet a FREMO enthusiast, you can come to the event to see if this could be a new interesting hobby. You will find out about the different variations of the hobby from play to precise reproductions and you can decide whether you want to buy a ready-made set or build everything from scratch. In other words, the hobby of railway modelling can be about an interest in operating the railways or about building and craft skills,” says Kari Hovinmaa from FREMO-FIN.
The FREMO hobby requires at least some craft skills – you can buy everything ready-made or as building kits but you can also make everything from beginning to end.
“When building a module, you need at least carpentry skills, an ability to perform low voltage electrical work, an eye for landscaping, painting and building design and either imagination or precise details of the location being reproduced and of course knowledge of history,” Hovinmaa says.
“Builders work with various hand tools, small drills, files, saws and soldering tools. Dexterity is also needed because the smallest drill bits are 0.3 mm in diameter and bits larger than 2 mm are rarely used,” Hovinmaa adds.
XXXV Railway Modelling Event in Hall D of the Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre from Saturday to Sunday 18–19 November. Finnish Craft & Design Fair in Halls A, C and E and Dolls’ House Fair in Hall D 17–19 November.
Further information:
Pirkanmaa Railway Enthusiasts’ Club Pirake ry
FREMO-FIN