The Society was founded on 30th July 1947. The inaugural meeting was held at Purley Oaks School, South Croydon when a Committee was elected under the Chairmanship of Mr. F.N. Rush.

The Society moved into rooms on Platform 1 at Purley Oaks station around 1950 and remained there until 2nd May 1989 when a disastrous fire destroyed the clubroom and its contents.

The scene in the club room after the fire

Hasty arrangements were made for meetings to take place at Christchurch Hall Brighton Road, Purley. These arrangements were not ideal as modelling items had to be carried to and from the hall each Wednesday night, which included new layouts stored at members homes. Meanwhile, frantic searches were being made to find a new permanent home for the Society.

On 22nd April 1992 the transfer was signed for the purchase of the Society's present clubroom in South Croydon and, after a busy summer of building work, the Society moved in on 16th September that year. It was at last independent and in control of its own future.

Work still continues when members can spare the time, with the aim of creating a clubroom that will meet the needs of the Society for many years to come.

The main objective of the Society remains much the same as it was when it started back in 1947; that is to promote and encourage the interest in all forms of railway, either model or prototype.

It aims to continue constructing layouts to exhibition standards, but does not hesitate in advising and assisting members whatever their standard of modelling. We welcome new members of the age of fourteen and over.

The Society's regular meeting is every Wednesday, between 8 PM and 10.30 PM, with members attending to work on layouts, swap ideas and or simply discuss railway matters over a cup of coffee.

In addition to the regular meetings other work days/nights are sometimes arranged by one or more of the layout teams. The Society also organizes various railway related "away-days".

In recent years these have included rail tours to such destinations as Weymouth Quay, York and Great Yarmouth. We have had "Mystery Tours" on railway lines around the South East, and have also visited preservation sites such as Amberley and the Bluebell Railway.

The Society issues a bimonthly newsletter to keep members informed of Society events and trips, and of local rail news.

The logo on the top left of the page is the Society's original and principal logo. The smaller, more modernistic, logo on the right has been introduced more recently to feature primarily on our Annual Exhibition publicity material.

The Society also runs a shop for the benefit of members, which is situated within the clubroom and supplies a good range of Ratio and Slaters products, useful track and scenic construction materials, books and magazines and of course, secondhand locomotives and rolling stock. The shop also trades externally at local Swapmeets and Toy Fairs and provides a large sales outlet at our Annual Exhibition.

 NEW MEMBERS

We are always ready to warmly welcome new members to our Society.

You will see from our LAYOUTS pages that we have up to three layouts at the early design, development and construction stages so now could be a good time to come and join us and be in at the start of these exciting new projects. Maybe you have just the modelling skills we are looking for in track laying, scenic construction or rolling stock building. Or conversely you want to learn various skills or pick up useful tips from our in-house expertise to apply to a home project.

Either way you would be more than welcome to join us on Wednesday evenings. Furthermore, as well as modelling, we do enjoy other railway related activities throughout the year.

To find out more why not contact us by e-mail through the Contact page.

Where are you going now?
[ Previous Site | Go to a Random Site | Next Site ]
[ List the Next 5 Sites | List all Member Sites ]

 

[ Previous | List Sites | Next ] [ Prev. 5 | Random | Next 5 ]