Andover Model Railway Club showcase in Chantry Centre

The Andover Model Railway Club showcase event, held on Saturday, October 25, at the Chantry Centre in Andover, gave club members the chance to display their layouts to the public in the Model Railway Shop as well as in the heart of the Chantry Centre.

The showcase featured a variety of model railway sets, each with its own story and years of dedication behind it, but alongside this, members felt a strong sense of pride to be involved with the club.

Here is a selection of displays from the showcase:

Robert Gerrett and his two sons in front of their Lego inspired railway display. (Image: Daniel Quina Brito)

Robert Gerrett, who attended with his two sons, displayed his Lego-themed railway set, which featured a station and a variety of different trains.

Mr Gerrett said: "It is mostly built from scratch, apart from a couple of sets, but it is nice to get the trains out of the loft."

"I am quite chuffed to see the trains out, it's nice to bring the kids along nowadays, they're on their PlayStation, and I am upstairs playing with Lego."

"My passion for trains since lockdown went through the roof obviously as I had more free time, and it's been really good."

Mr Gerrett said the club has played an important role in his hobby.

He said: "The club is brilliant, they are so welcoming all the time, personally I like chatting to the older chaps and seeing what they've done in their lives, they have such an amazing amount of knowledge and they want to share, so it is nice to learn from them and enjoy their company."

Brian Fakes in front of his railway display. (Image: Daniel Quina Brito)

Brian Fakes, who comes from a carpentry background, also showcased his carefully designed display at the event.

The display featured a scenic foreground, which allowed the trains to run freely, as well as an underpassage unknown to viewers, where trains were stored and changed.

He said: "This has probably taken 3 years to get to this stage, and it's been going for 6 years.

"Coming to the club was frightening because I did not know much about the trains, but as soon as I came, different people knew different things and that's where you learn.

"The showcase is fantastic, I have got a chap that does the scenery and this sort of thing as well, and this is what they love about it, they love the detail.

"You must keep trains running because if they are not running, people will walk straight by the train will draw your attention.

"It is brilliant to be part of the club, I do the carpentry side of things, but it's good they are a good crowd.

"We are a bit older and more youngsters are coming in, which is good, but I would like to see a few more."

Frank Haggar in front of his display named 'New Barton.' (Image: Daniel Quina Brito)

Frank Haggar shared the story of New Barton, one of the club’s long-standing layouts that was first exhibited in 2005.

He said: "I only joined myself a few years back, but I am proud to say this has been my staple running layout.

"I keep a careful eye on it, make sure everything is working and on Wednesday evening, we're just thoroughly enjoying running our trains on it.

"I feel privileged to have the trains showcased here.

"We have put in a lot of work into this layout over the last year or so, and it gives you a sense of pride that you can display some skills that you have usually kept in the spare room for about 20 years.

"It feels absolutely brilliant to be part of the club, the lads are more than happy to impart their skills for the next generation of modellers, and I am happy to pass on my bits and bobs, and they are just a fabulous bunch of blokes to have an evening with."

Paul Leonard and Andrew Fendick in front of their display Colin's Cove named after a member (Image: Daniel Quina Brito)

Paul Leonard displayed Colin's Cove in the showcase, which is named after a member of the Andover Model Railway Club and is a near representation of the main line between Dawish and Timmouth in Devon.

Mr Leonard said: "The model itself is made out of various elements, and we've made it open so we are on different levels.

"It took us two years to build, we are still not finished, and we are in the stage now where we are beginning to start the weathering process, and then the last thing we will look to do is add in some scenarios so people can talk or be on the beach.

"We are incredibly privileged to have a unit like this, most railway clubs have to put everything away at the end of the session and if that was still the case, we could not build this."

When reflecting on what the club brings to the community Mr Leonard found that although it is centred around trains, there was a bigger picture behind it.

Mr Leonard said: "It's partly about trains, but it's mainly about the people.

"You've got a variety of people here, we have got two 90-year-olds who have been here since the club was formed in the 70s they are in every week they have all got something to say and they were very good modellers in their time.

"So it's very social and that's a great thing."