Chester Model Railway Club

Chester Model Railway Club

est. 1951

Railtours

Welcome to the Chester Model Railway Club home page.

Please note that the recent updates section has been moved to the bottom of the page.

About the club

Back in 1951 there were probably few who thought, though some probably hoped, that the club would still be going strong nearly 60 years later. However, despite many setbacks along the way, including being given just three weeks to vacate our premises some years ago, we are now going from strength to strength and are proud to possess our own clubrooms. These have recently been extended to include toilet facilities, a kitchen and library / meeting room. Our membership is beginning to grow but we always welcome and encourage new modellers. Our N gauge layout is currently making steady progress with new boards and much of the track laid. The OO section is looking to construct a new end to end layout for which some of the boards have been made up. We also have a OOn3 layout being constructed by the narrow gauge section, so there is plenty to interest almost everyone. Please contact us if you are interested in joining us (see below).

The main aim of our club is to bring people together of all ages and abilities, who have a common interest in modelling railways of various scales and gauges. We cater for all, from those just starting up to more advanced modellers, so plenty of help and encouragement are available. We currently have four sections, with layouts in 4n12 (OOn3 - Dingle completed and Castlefin under construction), N (Bangor station NW), 00 (Chapel Junction all but complete and a new end to end layout) and 0 (built offsite) all being at various stages of construction. This shows that we are constantly developing and improving, not a club who sits back and dwells on past glories.
In all we have three layouts under construction (N, OO, and OOn3) and so now is the time for newcomers to get involved. We are looking to increase our membership and are especially keen to get people interested in OO and N gauge. This is an opportunity to be involved with the construction and scenic work of three exhibition standard layouts. As mentioned above the OO section, having almost completed Chapel Junction, are now looking to develop a new end to end layout and have completed a couple of baseboards. The N gauge section are building a model based on Bangor station North Wales. The boards are all built and erected for this and tracklaying is well underway. The narrow gauge section are building a model of Castlefin on the County Donegal system in 4mm scale. They still maintain Dingle for 'play' and for exhibitions. For more information visit the relevant pages or contact us by emailing. We look forward to seeing you.
We run an annual railtour. As well as modelling we run at least one railtour a year. Details of the next one will be available soon. Members also assist in and run their own working parties on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways amongst others.
Our club-night is Monday from 8pm to 10pm, barring Bank Holidays, however there are often members down at other times, although this is by private arrangement!
Membership is currently £54 p.a., with juniors at £12, though for the first year this is halved! We recommend that you visit the club on at least three occasions to see if the atmosphere and general conviviality suits you! It should be noted that all membership applications go for approval by the committee.
NO SMOKING policy. Smoking is not allowed anywhere on the site.
Railtour Information - Contact Laurence Wheeler. Details of our next tour will soon be available - book early to avoid disappointment!
For obvious security reasons a location map is not published in these pages, especially since a break in at the club a couple of years ago. This has resulted in there being little of any value kept on site, though the layouts themselves are virtually irreplaceable - if almost worthless to anyone else!

If you are interested in joining us, or would like details of how to find us and see how we are progressing, please feel free to contact us CLICK HERE

1st Choice Cufflinks has a wide range of train cufflinks and ties, making an excellent gift for any rail enthusiast

Most Recent Updates

3rd October - Some pictures of progress on the Narrow Gauge Section's 'Castlefin' layout.

3rd September - Some pictures of the OO section section added, taken by photographer and member Alistair Field.

29th August - New write up on the OO section pages. This gives much more detail about what the OO are doing and have done!

6th August - Some more pictures added to the OO page. Theses were taken a while back by James Shuttleworth.

5th August - General tidying up of website, with many of the 'missing links' (not just me) fixed. Update to the OO Section page - several pictures showing significant developments with the scenic work (captions to come). Plus updates to shows being visited by Dingle.

18th January 2008 - Update to our Railtours page. Why not join us on the "Dorset Coast Express"? A wonderful day out on Saturday 19th April. Click on the link above for details and booking form.

17th December 2007 - Happy Christmas to all our readers

1st December - update to the Dingle page - news about the Tralee and Blennerville operating for next year.t the b

13th November - Haslington Models in Crewe broken into. They were broken into on Thursday night. About 45 locos have been taken, most are run of the mill, but there are a couple of commissions that may stick in peoples minds.

Hornby Dutch livery class 31 weathered detailed and renumbered to 31134, this is Les's own model.

Most interesting and collectable are 3 lima class 59s all identical, 59003? "Alan J Day" in Mendip Rail/DB livery, this is the limited edition model rail loco complete with certificate and badge etc, these don't come up for sale very often so if you get offered one then please make a note of the certificate number (I do know them but will need to confirm with Les which ones are missing) and let me know.

If anyone is offered any locos under suspicious circumstances please try to get the name of the vendor and say you'll get back to him/her, then contact the police at Crewe (01270 500222), Haslington Models (01270 589079/ hasmod@msn.com)

The sooner these selfish criminals are caught the better. Model (railway) shops are a rarity these days and this sort of action deprives all of us the opportunity to browse rather than order unseen off the internet. Please help if you can.

4th April - Upton Dale has now been sold and the narrow gauge pages amended accordingly. Various other tidying up jobs done as well!

13th March - UPTON DALE is up for sale. This is a rare opportunity to purchase a working, exhibition standard 009 layout. Starting price is around £500. Click for more details on EBAY and click here for pictures of the layout. Get bidding - you have a few days left - last bids ' Monday 19-Mar 19:10:05 GMT' !!! Good luck with your bids.

10th January 2007 - A list of the stolen OO items has been placed in the OO section. There is also a downloadable pdf file here

8th January 2007 - Some extra pictures of some of the stolen stock have been added to the Upton Dale page to help with recognition. Sadly however this is by no means all of what was lost.

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