Hundreds of model railway enthusiasts will be gathering at the Severn Valley Railway over the weekend of 19 and 20 October for the heritage line’s third annual O Gauge Get Together.
The main event takes place at The Engine House, Highley, and offers the chance to see at least nine very different layouts, as Tom Clarke, one of the organisers, explained:
‘Our large scale event just grows and grows and it now feels like a real fixture in the calendar. We’re proud to bring together a range of railway settings, some based in reality, others entirely fictitious.
‘For example, we’ll have the 36-foot-long Stodden Hundred Light Railway, portraying a fictional private light railway in Cambridgshire, whilst Newton Heath Works is a lovely little working narrow gauge layout, and BR blue fans will love East Road.
‘I’ve been working with co-owner and fellow event organiser Harry Bradley to extend our Burlish Road layout by an extra eight feet. We’re constantly adding scenery, buildings, signals and trains to make it more realistic and interesting.
‘This is another “what if” location, located somewhere along the SVR, between Bewdley and Hartlebury, with authentic branch line trains of the pre-preservation period and some post-preservation interlopers!’
Visitors have the chance to buy a limited edition O gauge wagon, produced exclusively for this year’s event; a Burwarton Coal Company wagon, a few of which operated on the Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors light railway.
The star prize in the raffle is an O gauge Black 5 from Ellis Clark Trains worth £949, and there are further prizes. All profits go to the SVR Resilience Fund.
There’ll be trade stands including Dapol, Ellis Clark, Connoisseur Models, Walsworth Models, Finney7, Ragstone Models, Yellow Shed Designs, Steaming around Yorkshire, Joe Lock Model Railways and Peco. The Gauge O Guild will have a stand, along with various loco-owning groups.
There’s no parking at The Engine House, so the best way to get to the event is via the SVR’s heritage train service. Tickets and more information are at svr.co.uk