A brief history

The club was started by our president who placed an advertisement in the Railway Modeller 22 years ago!  Several people responded, some of whom are still members today and a meeting was held in his front room one cold winters evening in 1984.

Soon after this, a hall was found in Hayes and the club started to meet on a regular basis. Plans were drawn up for our very first club layout ‘Brent Road’ which was to be in OO scale and based on the G.W.R. circa 1930.

A couple of years passed and the limited storage facilities offered by the hall in Hayes had led to problems and so a move to Yiewsley Baptist Church Hall in West Drayton was implemented. The facilities here being far superior than our previous residence.

Our younger group constructed a Modern Image locomotive depot layout called ‘Westfield’ and a start was made on our first venture into O gauge, a fictitious Somerset and Dorset branch terminus called ‘Compton Abbas’. At the same time a small group with an interest in railways across the pond constructed an American ‘HO’ layout ‘Drayton West’, a reversal of the town where we meet.

The present day

We currently have 25 members and our latest project 'East Dean' which replaced 'Compton Abbas', which was some eight years old and now has gone to a new owner, also our  'O' gauge test track is fully operational, with DCC now added. We are currently planning a scenic module, to give us a continous run 'O' gauge layout.

 In 'OO' we are building a China Clay layout based in Devon. The Gas Works , which is now being sold, shown under construction below

click photo to enlarge

In addition to our weekly meetings on Thursday nights we sometimes have a working afternoon on a Saturday from 1- 6pm. This being twice as long as our evening meeting we are able to achieve a great deal and much tea drinking takes place.

How to find us map

On the social side, we attend exhibitions with our layouts and enjoy the occasional day out to places of railway interest. Some of our members even have ambitions to drive real trains! A small group of us like to sample the beers at a real ale pub and we also try to have a curry night every so often. Not forgetting our annual Christmas dinner, for members and their partners. After a great night last year we have booked our regular venue for 2007. Bob at the controls of EPB Preservation Group "2EPB 5759"