The website for the Centenary Exhibition of the Manchester Model Railway Society has now been published, revealing full details of what will be the most complex exhibition we have ever staged. It will take place over the weekend of 13th – 14th December at our central Manchester venue, The Sugden Centre, M1 7HB. Full details can be found at www.mmrs.co.uk/exhibition
Founded in 1925, we are the third oldest such group in the world and have an enviable reputation for innovation and excellence. This year’s exhibition celebrates our history, presents some of the finest layouts in the UK at present, and also displays a selection of iconic layouts which are significant in the development of the hobby.
Exhibition coordinator, Philip Sweet, commented:
“Even by our standards, the quality of the layouts on display is remarkable. Apart from six layouts which are making their public debut, almost all of the rest have featured in at least one of the major railway modelling magazines.
We want to share with our visitors the enjoyment we get from our hobby, and the pride that we feel in the contribution that MMRS members have made in the technical development of the railway modelling in the UK and beyond.”
There is a special themed area within the exhibition which charts the history of railways and railway modelling in this country, but whereas the rest of the country celebrates the 200 year period from 1825, here in Manchester we do things differently, and start our timeline from 1804, with a film made by one of our members about the Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick.
For the modelling connoisseur there is the long awaited debut of a new layout by the renowned modellers Gordon and Maggie Gravett, and also the very rare chance to see a layout built around 60 years ago and last exhibited in 2013 – Dundreich, built by P D Hancock and believed to be the earliest example of a narrow gauge model railway.
There are, as always, plenty of activities for children, including a chance to win a complete trainset, and they will be able to try their hand at driving model trams on the biggest exhibit in the show, almost 13m long! As well as that, they will be able to see the ORIGINAL Thomas the Tank Engine layout in operation, built by the author of the Thomas books for his son almost 80 years ago.
Tickets will go on sale in August, with 100 special Centenary Tickets at just £10, reduced from the normal adult price of £14 (Sat) and £11 (Sun); as always, accompanied children have FREE admission.