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Unless stated otherwise, all photographs on this site are by Tony Wright, courtesy of British Railway Modelling

Club History

Wolverhampton Model Railway Club was formed in 1973, initially becoming a section of the Fordhouses and Oxley Community Association (FOCA) and later also a member of the now defunct Association of Midland Model Railway Clubs. The club joined the Chiltern Model Railway Association in 1993 and remains a member to this day.

The club starting by holding weekly meetings in the FOCA Community Centre at Pendeford High School in Marsh Lane, Fordhouses. However, a major drawback of the Community Centre was that the room was only available to the club on Tuesday evenings and for the occasional Saturday. At the end of each session, the room had to be cleared to allow for its use by other community groups.

Pendeford

The construction of the club's first layout, Pendeford, soon commenced and, despite the Pendeford layout less than ideal conditions, fairly quickly completed. This was a freelance 00 gauge layout, which made its first public appearance at the Adult Education Centre, Old Hall Street, Wolverhampton in 1974. It subsequently appeared at several other local exhibitions/events during the period 1974 to 1977, at which point it was retired.

Oxendale Junction

Oxendale Junction The club's second project was an N gauge construction. This was shown at the club's first exhibition which was held at Pendeford High School in 1976. The layout was developed, extended and detailed over an extended period to reach its current incarnation as Oxendale Junction. Oxendale still attends exhibitions throughout the country under the club banner.

Fordley Park

The building of Fordley Park began in 1976. This was again 00 gauge Fordley Park layout and fictitious but based on BR(ER) practice with BR(LMR) incursions. It was quite successful on the exhibition circuit making many appearances over a period of several years including visits to York, Nottingham and Warley. However, the frequent service of heavy trains eventually took its toll and by 1984 it was considered to be in need of major renovation. Unfortunately the wear and tear turned out to be heavier than originally thought so a reluctant decision was taken to scrap Fordley Park and conserve resources with the idea of building a replacement. The next big advance came in 1982, when the club moved into its new clubroom, of which we enjoyed exclusive use. This was a major benefit as it allowed layouts to be left in position at the end of club nights making their construction and maintenance much more convenient, quicker and easier, although at the cost of higher subscriptions.

Moretonhampstead

The first task in the new clubroom was the depiction of South Devon's Moretonhampstead as it would have appeared in the 1930s. Moretonhampstead layout This was the club's first model of a prototype station and, with an overall scenic length of twenty-five feet, demonstrates just how much space is required to accurately model a small rural branch line terminus station. On completion in the early 1980s, Moretonhampstead joined the exhibition circuit and over the subsequent quarter of a century has made numerous appearances throughout the country and still receives occasional exhibition invitations.

Woden Road/Hobgate

With the club continuing to grow, the increased membership covered a wider range of interests. The growing number of Hobgate layout larger scale modellers resulted in an O gauge construction. Initially Woden Road, it was extended and later joined by Hobgate. With multiple ways of combining these two stations and the fiddle yard, it was possible to offer the layout for exhibition in a variety of configurations.

By 2004, the lack of active O gauge modellers meant that the O Gauge layout had become surplus to requirements. As a result, the decision was taken to sell the layout to a good home. Happily it continues to appear on the exhibition circuit in a new guise under its new ownership.

Leighford

The successor to Fordley Park was Leighford, another fictitious layout, this time based on BR (ER & LMR) operations in Yorkshire. Although Leighford appeared Leighford layout to be a continuous run layout it was actually formed as a 'dumbbell' folded on itself. Unfortunately, this design proved to have weaknesses in that trains were off-scene for about two thirds of each lap and that any problem arising in one direction quickly escalated over the whole layout causing all trains to stop. This original format was initially designed as the first phase of a very adventurous and three phase project. The final layout would have been approximately 60' x 20', comprising of the original section plus extensions modelling a sizable goods/marshalling yard, a loco shed and a substantial city terminus station. However, experience of operating the layout at its first few exhibitions revealed some serious short comings which needed remedial treatment: while decreasing the gradient at the rear of the layout, scenery was added to this section, thereby reducing the off-scene time of each train to under a half. However, the planned extensions were quickly abandoned. Despite this, Leighford enjoyed a reasonably successful exhibition life. However, by the early 1990s its reliability and the wear and tear began to cause concern, so in 1993 the decision was made to dispose of it, before it let us down at an exhibition. After completing its existing exhibition commitments, Leighford was sold in 1995.

Stoke Summit

Since the decision to sell Leighford would have left the club without a large 00 gauge exhibition layout, a group of six club members, led by Tony Wright, decided to built an interim layout. This would be based on an actual location, rather than the fictional layouts we'd previously produced. The result was Stoke Summit, based on the famous prototype location on the East Coast Main Line approximately 5 miles south of Grantham in Lincolnshire. The layout was to be 30 feet long which meant that, to fit this space, the scene had to be foreshortened/compressed, but we believe that the team have managed to capture the essentials of the actual location. Stoke Summit made its exhibition debut in 1996 and has now made over fifty exhibition appearances throughout England as well as venturing into Scotland and Wales on a few occasions. The layout has future exhibition invitations into 2011, not bad for an interim layout! At exhibitions, the operating team have usually chosen to portray the steam period, but recently Stoke Summit has broken new ground, appearing at a few exhibitions portraying the 'early diesel' period of British Railways. In this alternative guise, the layout appears to have been well received by both exhibition visitors and managers, although the steam era remains the preferred option.

Charwelton

The club's latest 00 gauge layout is Charwelton which made its belated exhibition debut in 2002. Like Stoke Summit, Charwelton is based on an actual location: the former Great Central London Extension station located in Northamptonshire. Charwelton is now the club's flagship 00 gauge layout and has appeared at 15 exhibitions to date with several future visits confirmed.

Old Mills

Moving into the present, the club's latest venture is another prototype based layout, this time a small colliery interchange, Old Mills which was located in Somerset on the former Great Western line between Bristol, Radstock and Frome. The layout's first exhibition appearance is due to be at our own show in November 2007, dependant upon progress. Because of the positive reception that Stoke Summit received in its 'diesel era' guise, Old Mills will initially appear portraying the 1968-1972 period with appropriate diesel stock.

Others

Throughout its life the club has been, and continues to be, represented at exhibitions by private layouts owned by club members. These have included Finton, Highworth, Merthyr Riverside, Seahouses, Stoke Summit and Tolcarn Engine Shed. Club members are also regular demonstrators at model railway exhibitions countrywide.


	Welcome to Wolverhampton Model Railway Club's website

Home Information Membership details Contacts History Exhibitions Our exhibition Appearances Layouts Charwelton Merthyr Riverside Mortonhampstead Oxendale Junction Stoke Summit New Projects Hest Bank Old Mills Weaver Bridge Unless stated otherwise, all photographs on this site are by Tony Wright, courtesy of British Railway Modelling	Club History Wolverhampton Model Railway Club was formed in 1973, initially becoming a section of the Fordhouses and Oxley Community Association (FOCA) and later also a member of the now defunct Association of Midland Model Railway Clubs. The club joined the Chiltern Model Railway Association in 1993 and remains a member to this day. The club starting by holding weekly meetings in the FOCA Community Centre at Pendeford High School in Marsh Lane, Fordhouses. However, a major drawback of the Community Centre was that the room was only available to the club on Tuesday evenings and for the occasional Saturday. At the end of each session, the room had to be cleared to allow for its use by other community groups. Pendeford The construction of the club's first layout, Pendeford, soon commenced and, despite the less than ideal conditions, fairly quickly completed. This was a freelance 00 gauge layout, which made its first public appearance at the Adult Education Centre, Old Hall Street, Wolverhampton in 1974. It subsequently appeared at several other local exhibitions/events during the period 1974 to 1977, at which point it was retired. Oxendale Junction The club's second project was an N gauge construction. This was shown at the club's first exhibition which was held at Pendeford High School in 1976. The layout was developed, extended and detailed over an extended period to reach its current incarnation as Oxendale Junction. Oxendale still attends exhibitions throughout the country under the club banner. Fordley Park The building of Fordley Park began in 1976. This was again 00 gauge and fictitious but based on BR(ER) practice with BR(LMR) incursions. It was quite successful on the exhibition circuit making many appearances over a period of several years including visits to York, Nottingham and Warley. However, the frequent service of heavy trains eventually took its toll and by 1984 it was considered to be in need of major renovation. Unfortunately the wear and tear turned out to be heavier than originally thought so a reluctant decision was taken to scrap Fordley Park and conserve resources with the idea of building a replacement. The next big advance came in 1982, when the club moved into its new clubroom, of which we enjoyed exclusive use. This was a major benefit as it allowed layouts to be left in position at the end of club nights making their construction and maintenance much more convenient, quicker and easier, although at the cost of higher subscriptions. Moretonhampstead The first task in the new clubroom was the depiction of South Devon's Moretonhampstead as it would have appeared in the 1930s. This was the club's first model of a prototype station and, with an overall scenic length of twenty-five feet, demonstrates just how much space is required to accurately model a small rural branch line terminus station. On completion in the early 1980s, Moretonhampstead joined the exhibition circuit and over the subsequent quarter of a century has made numerous appearances throughout the country and still receives occasional exhibition invitations. Woden Road/Hobgate With the club continuing to grow, the increased membership covered a wider range of interests. The growing number of larger scale modellers resulted in an O gauge construction. Initially Woden Road, it was extended and later joined by Hobgate. With multiple ways of combining these two stations and the fiddle yard, it was possible to offer the layout for exhibition in a variety of configurations. By 2004, the lack of active O gauge modellers meant that the O Gauge layout had become surplus to requirements. As a result, the decision was taken to sell the layout to a good home. Happily it continues to appear on the exhibition circuit in a new guise under its new ownership. Leighford The successor to Fordley Park was Leighford, another fictitious layout, this time based on BR (ER & LMR) operations in Yorkshire. Although Leighford appeared to be a continuous run layout it was actually formed as a 'dumbbell' folded on itself. Unfortunately, this design proved to have weaknesses in that trains were off-scene for about two thirds of each lap and that any problem arising in one direction quickly escalated over the whole layout causing all trains to stop. This original format was initially designed as the first phase of a very adventurous and three phase project. The final layout would have been approximately 60' x 20', comprising of the original section plus extensions modelling a sizable goods/marshalling yard, a loco shed and a substantial city terminus station. However, experience of operating the layout at its first few exhibitions revealed some serious short comings which needed remedial treatment: while decreasing the gradient at the rear of the layout, scenery was added to this section, thereby reducing the off-scene time of each train to under a half. However, the planned extensions were quickly abandoned. Despite this, Leighford enjoyed a reasonably successful exhibition life. However, by the early 1990s its reliability and the wear and tear began to cause concern, so in 1993 the decision was made to dispose of it, before it let us down at an exhibition. After completing its existing exhibition commitments, Leighford was sold in 1995. Stoke Summit Since the decision to sell Leighford would have left the club without a large 00 gauge exhibition layout, a group of six club members, led by Tony Wright, decided to built an interim layout. This would be based on an actual location, rather than the fictional layouts we'd previously produced. The result was Stoke Summit, based on the famous prototype location on the East Coast Main Line approximately 5 miles south of Grantham in Lincolnshire. The layout was to be 30 feet long which meant that, to fit this space, the scene had to be foreshortened/compressed, but we believe that the team have managed to capture the essentials of the actual location. Stoke Summit made its exhibition debut in 1996 and has now made over fifty exhibition appearances throughout England as well as venturing into Scotland and Wales on a few occasions. The layout has future exhibition invitations into 2011, not bad for an interim layout! At exhibitions, the operating team have usually chosen to portray the steam period, but recently Stoke Summit has broken new ground, appearing at a few exhibitions portraying the 'early diesel' period of British Railways. In this alternative guise, the layout appears to have been well received by both exhibition visitors and managers, although the steam era remains the preferred option. Charwelton The club's latest 00 gauge layout is Charwelton which made its belated exhibition debut in 2002. Like Stoke Summit, Charwelton is based on an actual location: the former Great Central London Extension station located in Northamptonshire. Charwelton is now the club's flagship 00 gauge layout and has appeared at 15 exhibitions to date with several future visits confirmed. Old Mills Moving into the present, the club's latest venture is another prototype based layout, this time a small colliery interchange, Old Mills which was located in Somerset on the former Great Western line between Bristol, Radstock and Frome. The layout's first exhibition appearance is due to be at our own show in November 2007, dependant upon progress. Because of the positive reception that Stoke Summit received in its 'diesel era' guise, Old Mills will initially appear portraying the 1968-1972 period with appropriate diesel stock. Others Throughout its life the club has been, and continues to be, represented at exhibitions by private layouts owned by club members. These have included Finton, Highworth, Merthyr Riverside, Seahouses, Stoke Summit and Tolcarn Engine Shed. Club members are also regular demonstrators at model railway exhibitions countrywide.