Warley Model Railway Club & Exhibition

16/09/2026

I am sad to tell you that last weekend Dawn Quest was involved in a serious accident on the way home from an exhibition with her Brief Encounter layout. Both Dawn and partner were injured but are out of hospital. The car is a write off and the layout has been damaged. We did have Brief Encounter on our list of layouts for this year but obviously it will not be able to attend. I wish Dawn and Harry (aka Grumpy) a rapid recovery.

16/09/2026

It is less than four weeks until Warley at Statfold. Isn't it about time you bought your advance tickets? For tickets go to https://statfold.com/warleymodelrailwayshow/
Today's featured layout, which will be at our exhibition, is Measham in 00.
MEASHAM OO by James Kirkby
Measham is a village in north west Leicestershire on what was the route from Nuneaton to Burton on Trent. Just off this line is a section which is now the Battlefield Heritage Railway at Market Bosworth.
The layout is set in the 1940s in the LMS period in the midst of the Leicestershire coalfield.

15/09/2026

An N gauge layout that will be at our show - Todmorden Midland.

TODMORDEN MIDLAND N by Ed Purcell
This layout is an N gauge terminus modelled in 4 feet by 14 inches with a cassette type fiddle yard of a further 2 feet. It is imagined that in the 1870s the Midland Railway decided to try to tap the lucrative traffic north of Manchester and towns like Rochdale and Oldham. So this would have been a hilly extension from the Keighley and Worth Valley branch. However, when they reached Todmorden the money and the drive ran out and the lengthy line from Keighley was left to struggle on into the 1950s and 60s which is when it is modelled.
Stock is a mixture of proprietary and kit built items and can include some ER items as well as the majority which is LMR. Buildings are mainly scratchbuilt using some of the excellent plastic building sheets available nowadays while the rockfaces use lightweight hydrocal plaster to minimise weight and a variety of moulding techniques. Railway buildings are based on Settle and Carlisle designs which the MR would have had on file at the supposed time of building. Control is by DC using an excellent controller designed and built by members of Warley MRC.

Advance tickets which are cheaper than on the door available from https://statfold.com/warleymodelrailwayshow/

14/09/2026

Today we have a video rather than photos. The featured layout is the well known Bear Creek Junction with its scarily high level track. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSvAi6K8ytc .
I understand this layout was built by Adrian Hall, the chap who brought us the UK Model Shop Directory.

I notice that this layout features some dual gauge track. There will be another layout with dual gauge track at our exhibition which has yet to be featured here. That is fitting as Statfold Country Park is the only place I know that has full size dual gauge track, albeit not in use at the moment.

Colorado became the 38th state of the Union on the 29th December 18...

13/09/2026

Today's featured layout is EM gauge Pencader. Please remember to buy your tickets for our Statfold show in advance as it is more expensive on the door. https://statfold.com/warleymodelrailwayshow/
PENCADER Cardiff 4mm Group
Pencader was a station on the GWR line between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth. It was also the junction for the Newcastle Emlyn branch, the actual junction being some distance to the north (left as you look at the layout). The layout has been built to EM standards with most of the stock either being kit built or modified proprietary. All the track on the scenic section is hand made using Exactoscale components. Baseboards are ply with the scenery being teddy bear fur on cardboard formers. All the buildings are scratch built using a mixture of plastic and plywood. The electrics are analogue. Set in the 1930s, before Manors were introduced, the model is an accurate representation of the period with the trains being based on the timetables of this period.

12/09/2026

As Statfold Country Park has such a wonderful collection of narrow gauge locos and you get unlimited free rides on the Statfold narrow gauge railways it is perhaps fitting that the Warley at Statfold show is planned to have no fewer than six 009 layouts. Today we feature "Ashover Butts".
ASHOVER BUTTS 009 by David Wright
The model was created last year to celebrate the centenary of the opening of The Ashover Light Railway. 'Ashover Butt's' was chosen for the layout, however, to create a circuit, David has imagined the railway continuing on to terminate at Kelstedge.
The model displays a hand painted backdrop along with a number of scratch built buildings which have been rendered using Das Modelling Clay before being hand scribed and painted to replicate the local stone masonry.
David will be on hand to demonstrate his modelling techniques over the weekend. Please feel free to ask him any questions.
One good reason to visit a model railway exhibition is that you can see modelling that you like and ask how it is done. I saw David's work at an exhibition some years back and he showed me how to build stone effect buildings. I have since used David's technique for building walls and am very happy with the results. So get your tickets at https://statfold.com/warleymodelrailwayshow/ you might just learn something to help your modelling. See less

11/09/2026

And today we feature HAMPTON LOVETT HERITAGE RAILWAY (OO) by Martyn Wyatt.
The railway was built to be initially displayed at Hampton Lovett Church Heritage open days and we are delighted to be able to show the layout at the ‘Warley at Statfold’ exhibition.
The Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton main line was first conceived in the 1850's as an alternative route to the North West avoiding the Lickey incline. The line runs from Droitwich to Kidderminster and is very close to the East side of Hampton Lovett church heading to Hartlebury and on to Birmingham.
The railway became a vital part of the war effort supporting the movement of Aircraft parts into and out of Unit 25 RAF Hartlebury Maintenance and Logistics. Some 1300 personnel worked at unit 25. Post war, as well as passenger movement to Birmingham Snow Hill, it was the main route north for Salt shipment from Droitwich and Stoke Works Bromsgrove. A great variety of unusual freight, commuter and passenger trains can be seen running continuously on this layout.
Our Warley at Statfold show is a great day out. You get as many free rides on the Statfold narrow gauge railways as you like, entrance to the wonderful Statfold Roundhouse which is full of narrow gauge locos and a free heritage bus shuttle between Statfold and Tamworth station as well as 30 layouts and 30 trade exhibitors plus demos plus societies. There is plenty of free parking on site and a pleasantly relaxed feel to the whole of Statfold Country Park. Get your tickets at https://statfold.com/warleymodelrailwayshow/

10/09/2026

Todays featured layout is Fitzwilliam Basin in 7mm narrow gauge.

FITZWILLIAM BASIN 0-9 by Andrew Booth
Fitzwilliam Basin is a fictional O9 layout inspired by buildings in and around Elsecar a village in South Yorkshire, this old industrial complex started out life as the Earl Fitzwilliam’s workshops for his Mines and Ironworks before becoming the workshops for the NCB and then British Coal. A number of the buildings are accurate representations of existing structures in Elsecar, such as the Newcomen Pump Engine, the old Mill and Elsecar Church but repositioned to give the feel of a small industrial complex based loosely in the 1930s to 1940s.

09/09/2026

Our featured layout at Statfold today is N gauge Monument Lane

MONUMENT LANE N by Ted Robinson
This N gauge layout features part of the Stour Valley railway line, between Monument Road and Dudley Road. It was located in Ladywood, Birmingham (modern post code is B18 7BA, the ).
The layout features part of the Harborne Branch, as it crosses the canal, heading towards Harborne. Running stock is between the 1930s to the 1960s.
As my first layout, I wanted it to be based on the area where I grew up, I’ve many fond memories playing near the canal, railway and Summerfield Park.
A major compromise had to be made for the carriage shed. It was actually 250 yards long and to build it in N gauge, it would have had to be roughly 60 inches long. It was necessary to truncate the shed to 24 inches and call it poetic license, so that the layout could include the part of the Harborne Branch (locally nicknamed the Old B***r Line) that I remember so well.
Some might know local landmarks such as:
• Barford Road Primary School
• Dudley Road Hospital (now City Hospital)
• the auctioneers Biddle & Webb
• “the Sandpits”
• and Springhill Library . or may have been on the number 8 bus route along Monument Road, on their way to work or school.
Get your tickets from Statfold Country Park https://statfold.com/warleymodelrailwayshow/

08/09/2026

Todays Warley at Statfold featured layout is a brand new 009 layout built by a Warley club member. Our show, on the 10 & 11th October, will be it's first time at an exhibition. As it is a member's layout I have quite a few photos.
BLACKMOOR GATE 009 by Mark Greenland.
Blackmoor Gate Station was the central hub of the historic narrow-gauge Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, which opened in 1898 and closed in 1935.
My layout, in 009 gauge, is a ‘What-If'. It is my interpretation of how the station might look in the present day had the original track bed and station survived into preservation; although the station building remains it is now a pub and restaurant owned by the L&B Blackmoor Company PLC which is a subsidiary of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust.
This compact layout, 5’7’’ x 2’0’’, on a single baseboard, was designed to fit in the back of my car for ease of transport.
Being a preserved line gives me the opportunity to run a variety of visiting locomotives and rolling stock.
Control is DC (analogue) using Peco track, Peco point motors, two working signals and led lighting.
Build time has been around 18 months and the layout’s appearance at ‘Warley at Statfold’ will be its exhibition debut.