Cheshire Railway Modellers

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Cotton Lane, OO, Bob Hughes/Crewe MR&ES

Cotton Lane, OO, Bob Hughes/Crewe MR&ES

Malcolm Cameron (Crewe MR&ES treasurer) at the controls.

As the exhibition was held in Crewe it is only polite to give the local model railway club a special mention. The Crewe Model Railway & Engineering Society is one of the country's oldest, established in 1945, their clubroom is at The Hop Pole on Wistaston Road and is open on Wednesday evenings from 19:30 (7.30pm for steam era modellers). New members are always welcome, please visit them if you live in the area and are interested in joining.

Cotton Lane, OO, Bob Hughes ****

Cotton Lane, OO, Bob Hughes ****

Calder Northern Division, HO, NMRA/CHC.

Calder Northern Division, HO, NMRA/CHC.

Another model railway group based in Crewe is the Calder Northern Division of the National Model Railroad Association which meets regularly at the Railway Age.

This large HO scale layout has been donated to the Crewe Heritage Centre and is a permanent attraction in the exhibition hall. Details of the group's meeting dates can be found by clicking here.

Three dioramas were displayed as the first exhibit next to the entrance. These were John Marsden's "Bell Inn", an 1830's scene (OO scale) including a horse drawn coal train, and two by Bob Hughes, Tweedsmuir Street (N scale) and Pentrebrac (OO). Tweedsmuir Street was also seen running at intervals during the show when we had staff available.

The Bell Inn, OO, John Marsden. **

The Bell Inn, OO, John Marsden. **

The Bell Inn, OO, John Marsden. ***

The Bell Inn, OO, John Marsden. ***

The Bell Inn, OO, John Marsden. ****

Pentrebrac, OO, Bob Hughes. ****

Tweedsmuir Street, N, Bob Hughes

Pentrebrac, OO, Bob Hughes

The Railway Age was not fully open to the public as it was outside the centre's operational season but there were some attractions outside. The class 03 diesel shunter was on "Driver for a Fiver" duties while the miniature railway (above**) was giving rides for children (of all ages). A 2-6-4 tank (below) was displayed just outside the exhibition hall as were a pair of routemaster buses, all of which added to a very enjoyable exhibition.

The Railway Age's website can be found on this link.

Our catering crew did an excellent job, feeding a large number of exhibitors, stewards and traders with a choice of cottage pie or vegetarian chilli, which was home cooked by Laura Hughes (left).

Laura's assistants on the day were Donna Lightfoot (centre) and Michelle Johnson (right). In the background is Michelle's daughter Annabelle who also helped. **

The other unsung heros of the exhibition were our doormen, John, Craig, Mike and James took it in turn to listen to the radio and drink tea in true railway fashion.

James also did stirling service on the car park for which he deserves special thanks, but he had to catch his train home before this photo** was taken.

Thanks also to the stewards for looking after the visitors and acting as relief operators on the layouts.

I would also like to add a most heartfelt thankyou to all the visitors who turned up on the day and made it such a wonderfully successful event. Without you it would not have been possible to raise the £1,517 for charity, thankyou one and all.

Bob Hughes, Exhibition Manager