Some years ago plans were announced for a major international model railway centre at Ashford. Premises were identified, layouts donated and some funding secured. Sadly it then all fell apart, money wasn’t forthcoming and then COVID hit so the project was never completed. Today I was able to visit the Phoenix that’s risen from the ashes of that project.
As things settled down a small industrial unit on a farm was secured and the Ashford International Model Railway Education Centre was born. I was aware of this but also that it mainly opens up for prebooked groups however, on checking their website, they were open today and as it’s only a few miles off the route home I decided to visit. Currently they have several smallish layouts on show, including the three built by The Men of Kent for the 2019 TV series of The Great Model Railway Challenge, which include the winning layout. They also have a small shop and serve drinks and excellent home-made cakes!
The Series Winning Layout
N Gauge - Originally built for a book.
I arrived a bit early but was immediately treated to some breaking news, although it’s also hit the press this week. They’ve now leased another, much larger, unit on the same site and will finally be able to display the layouts they have in store including The Gresley Beat, one of the finest layouts ever to grace the show circuit, but only for a while as it was too large and too expensive (it needed 4 7.5t vans just to transport it) for regular showing. I was given a brief tour of the new facility which was supposed to be open for August but issues over a fire break wall (it was used as a hay barn and the wall separating it from the tractor shed was just plain block) have delayed things to October. One other thing they’ve been building is a 5” gauge miniature railway, it’s still a work in progress but they were running today.
I’ve signed up for their email list though and we’ll definitely be back. I have to say it was also busy with visitors, whether for the refreshments or the layouts didn’t really matter.
I’d like to say the journey home went smoothly, but it didn’t. Sheer weight of traffic caused significant delays at the Dartford Crossing then there was a long, and largely unnecessary, 40mph stretch on the M11 where I was nearly taken out by a VW that sped off a slip road just missing me then had to stand on the brakes to avoid running into the back of a van.
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