A CHURCH became a hub for model railway enthusiasts across the county last Saturday to raise funds for much-needed repairs.
Hobbyists from seven clubs came together at St Thomas of Canterbury Church, Brentwood, to contribute to the exhibition of model layouts based on fictional, historical, and contemporary railway lines.
And with the church rooms full to capacity with nearly 20 meticulous displays, the event drew hundreds of fans, ranging from the lifetime enthusiast to the simply curious.
Father Colin Hewitt said: "It is hoped the event will raise funds to improve our stonework which desperately needs repair, and also pay for a new audio system, as the one we currently have keeps failing during visits, and we've been quoted £20,000 for a new one.
"That said this isn't just about the money but about bringing the community together, and allowing some people who haven't been inside the church before to have a look around."
The layouts on show for visitors to enjoy demonstrated painstaking work, with one member of the Epping Circle Model Railway Club taking years to ensure his layout of a line near the Surrey / Sussex border was perfectly to scale.
"When people ask how long it has taken I often say ten years with an eight and a half year gap," said creator Colin Wilson.
"You can't buy tracks to this scale so it all has to be done by hand, and the wheels re-gauged to ensure it can run along smoothly.
"But after I'd finished the track I couldn't decide on the setting until I was on a day trip somewhere and it suddenly came to me, and then I had to make sure every fence, and every building was just right."
Contributions were also made by clubs from Romford, Basildon, Burnham on Crouch, Epping, Mid-Essex, Shoeburyness and the event organisers from Chelmsford and District Model Railway Club who displayed their epic 'War and Peace', a full-scale model of Rolvenden Station as it would have been in the 1940s.
"We've had people come up and look at the display who would have seen or used the railway line at that time and say it brings back so many memories for them, which is the point of it all really," said club secretary, Robin French, whose wife Pat was responsible for much of the work behind the layout.
"I've been with the club for five or six years now, I'd said to my wife I was interested in looking round some of the different Essex groups but I got home one day to find she'd signed us up."
But for some enthusiasts the hobby was a little newer, with students from Moulsham High School in Chelmsford arriving with their own 'Moulsham Mill' layout, the result of many months of meetings at an after-school club each Wednesday.
"I've had a model railway in my bedroom since I was six years old so I thought joining a club would be a great idea," said 12-year-old, George Mayo.
"I really liked Design and Technology classes, and just having the chance to build things which is why I really enjoy model railways," added Jake Smith, also 12.
The students, who had been supported with donations and advice from members of the Chelmsford Model Club, were hailed by their teacher Steve Halls as "our future engineers" as they operated and checked their ongoing project.
And for those simply young at heart there was even a working scale model of a steam engine which puffed under the church pulpit along its tracks – a surprise addition to the popular event.
"All the clubs here today have agreed to waive their usual travel expenses to maximise the amount of money we've managed to raise which we are so grateful for," added Mr French.
"On top of that Dapol have contributed a model train worth around £117 for the raffle, Hornby has given us a complete train set, and two model railway magazines have donated a yearly subscription which I was just gobsmacked about.
"People have been so generous."
