Acknowledgements
Aldingbourne Community Sports Centre (ACSC)
The Club is fortunate in having its own premises within the Aldingbourne Community Sports Centre (ACSC) grounds. This is a registered Charity managed by volunteers. The purpose of the charity is the provision and maintenance of the Community Centre and recreation ground for the use of the inhabitants of the Parish of Aldingbourne. We are pleased to support the ACSC as they do us. Learn more about this invaluable local organisation here.
Barnham Signal Box Trust
To get the wonderful meeting rooms that we have today would not have been possible without the hard work, sweat and tears that the Barnham Signal Box Trust put into moving and restoring the Barnham Signal Box to where it is today in the stunning condition that it is in. To see the updates on the box to the 14th August 2015, click here. Anything post this date has been carried out by members of the club and/or external contractors and as can be seen, the results are simply amazing.
Contributors to the Signal Box Restoration
Despite the Barnham Signal Box Trust carrying out the amazing work that they did to the signal box, not much, possibly even none of the work would have been possible without the amazingly large amount of very kind contributions that were given to the trust through various brilliant companies, both large and small. This goes from the transport of the box to begin with to the smallest details, and from carrying out work at a reduced price to doing it for free along with the huge logistics brains behind the whole operation all the way through - we want to thank each and every one of you for the contributions that you made to allow this project to become a stunning reality.
Listed below are all the contributors that made the Barnham Signal Box Trust's vision a reality and provided us with some simply beautiful club rooms - again, thank you!
The Railway Heritage Trust, Network Rail, Southern Rail, BCM Engineering, BCS Design, The SITA Trust, West Sussex County Council and their former contractor May Gurney, Arun District Council, Aldingbourne Parish Council, Aldingbourne Community Sports Centre, and the wonderful trustees of the Barnham Signal Box Trust, who have donated this signal box to become our club base for a very long time to come. Thank you!
Listed below are all the contributors that made the Barnham Signal Box Trust's vision a reality and provided us with some simply beautiful club rooms - again, thank you!
The Railway Heritage Trust, Network Rail, Southern Rail, BCM Engineering, BCS Design, The SITA Trust, West Sussex County Council and their former contractor May Gurney, Arun District Council, Aldingbourne Parish Council, Aldingbourne Community Sports Centre, and the wonderful trustees of the Barnham Signal Box Trust, who have donated this signal box to become our club base for a very long time to come. Thank you!
Shopping
There are a variety of model railway stores up, down and right across the United Kingdom and Ireland, stocking absolutely everything that you could possibly need for your model railway - stock, electronics, scenics, the list goes on and on. Below are some of the stores both the club and its members use on a very regular basis to get all the items they need to achieve the final goal for their layouts.
Stores
This part of the list consists of stores where you can visit, browse and pick up a stunning array of different items ready for your model railway. Click on any part of the blue box to show more information, and click on the screenshot to take you to their website.
Local to the club is Gaugemaster, otherwise known as 'The Engine Shed'. This large walk in store stocks a huge variety and quantity of stock, both UK based and from abroad such as the US, Germany and Switzerland. Alongside this, they also stock a range of scenics, electronics and effects - on top of all this, they are the hub of Gaugemaster Controls Limited. Very handy to know and have right on the doorstep if you need any help with products!
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Address: Gaugemaster, Gaugemaster House, Ford Road, Ford, Arundel, West Sussex, BN18 0BN
www.gaugemasterretail.com // Contact Number: 01903 884488
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Public Transport: Next to Ford Station, with regular Southern services to and from Bognor Regis, Chichester, Littlehampton, Brighton and London Victoria
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Rails of Sheffield stock absolutely everythig you could ever need within the modelling world - the difference being the bargains and special offers. Both stores always have different bargains available, along with their own limited edition runs and special offers always on the go. Rails of Sheffield often team up with the likes of Bachmann and Accurascale for some amazing products and discounts - always worth a look!
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Address: 21-29 Chesterfield Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S8 0RL
www.railsofsheffield.com // Contact Number: 0114 2551 436
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Public Transport: Next to a bus stop, serving a wide range of First, Stagecoach, Powells, and Hulleys of Baslow bus services
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Despite having no rolling stock in store, Squires is a no-brainer for absolutely anything electronic. Being local to us means that we have great access for anything we could ever need electronic wise. They have every switch, cable, plug and electronic accessory you could ever need for building a layout - all this and more, for a really good price. As well as this, Squires stock some scenic items along with Hornby's set track range!
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Address: 100 London Road, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 1DD
www.squirestools.com // Contact Number: 01243 842424 |
Public Transport: 5 minute walk from Bognor Regis High Street serving a wide range of Stagecoach and Compass Travel bus services. Also a 5 minute walk from Bognor Regis Railway Station with regular Southern Services
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Online
Following on from walk-in stores comes the online stores - despite having to wait for your order to arrive in the post, it is often very much worth the wait for what arrives. Click on any part of the blue box to show more information, and click on the screenshot to take you to their website.
Legomanbiffo is one of the leading brands in the world of DCC Sound, providing some of the best sound files someone could ask for. DC Kits works closely alongside Legomanbiffo and is his trading partner, but DC Kits also provides a large array of stock, along with other sound companys (such as Wheeltappers and Locoman), various DCC Sound speakers and stock accessories - absolutely everything anyone could want for their stock and between them, they will always have it available!
www.dckits-devideos.co.uk // Contact Number: 0113 256 3415
Kytes Lights is a regular at our annual exhibition every year, supplying a huge stock of lighting enhancements and effects for your layout. This goes from the standard street and station platform lamp, to zebra crossings, to signals and traffic lights, to emergency vehicles with flashing lights and also buildings on fire with smoke and flashing lights mimicking fire - the range just goes on and on. On top of this, the service is amazing - you will always get what you ask for and if it is not in stock, the product will be sourced or made to order! A great online store for anything lighting related.
www.kyteslights.com // Contact Number: 07973 197787
Sometimes models have a fault or need a part replacing - Peters Spares is the place to go for your spares. Stocking all manner of spare parts from major suppliers such as Bachmann, Hornby and Heljan to name a few. They often have in stock spares that the manufacturers do not themselves, or would have to order to demand taking up time. As well as this, they also stock products from the likes of Train-Tech and Gaugemaster, for your convenience.
www.petersspares.com // Contact Number: 01642 909794
A one-stop-shop for everything you might need for your layouts and modelling. Providing a large array of scenic accessories, they are sure to always have what you need for the part of the layout you are doing. As well as scenic accessories, they also have a large range of tools and DCC accessories in stock so that they can cover you for whatever you may need during your modelling time - on top of this, customer service is some of the best!
www.railwayscenics.com // Contact Number: 01747 826269
Roads and Rails is run by someone who has over 10 years in the DCC Sound industry, and there is very little that they cannot do. They stock a whole range of brilliant speakers and there is one for every model on the market. As well as this, they are able to fit lights into models, fit DCC speakers (such as EM2) into models, weathering, sound chip reblows and so much more. Speakers, decoders and modelling accessories can be sent in the mail, however fitting and reblows need to be sent to him - many members of the club have done this and the results have always been 100%.
www.roads-and-rails.co.uk // Contact Number: 07743 888945
Clubs, Societies and Directories
Along with the stores supplying us with everything we could need for our model railways, there is also a vast array of fellow clubs, socieities and directories covering absolutely everything you could want and need to know about both railway modelling and the full size version. These range from G gauge to Z, preserving steam to modelling and everything else in between. Below are some of our fellow clubs along with socieites and directories our members are also part of.
Clubs
We have a large circle of closely connected clubs, which we invite to our show, they invite us to theirs, as well as socialising with more likeminded people focusing on the same hobby. Click on any part of the blue box to show more information, and click on the screenshot to take you to their website.
Alton Model Railway Group is a close tie of the club, with them making regular appearances at our annual exhibition in January. In return, they invite us to take varying layouts of all different shapes and sizes to their annual February exhibition. They are a very friendly club and welcoming to anybody with interests in railway modelling. If you are ever in the Alton area when they are holding their annual exhibition, be sure to pay a visit - it's a wonderful show!
www.altonmrg.co.uk
If OO gauge is too smaller scale but G gauge is too large, then O gauge might be the gauge for you - if this is so, then the Gauge O Guild is the place to go to get the best out of modelling in O gaguge. They hold 3 exhibitions a year, all surrounding O gauge modelling but also visit a wide array of shows where O gauge is featuring. On top of this, they hold the details of over 200 clubs across the UK and Ireland with O gauge as an interest and have a quarterly magazine containing anything and everything you could need to know about modelling in O gauge.
www.gaugeoguild.com
Based just over the county border in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Victory Model Railway Club is an ever expanding club full of very friendly individuals who are always happy to help at a moments notice - this can be from some friendly advice to providing a layout last minute to cover for a pull out from a show. As well as this, Victory Model Railway Club hold a large exhibibition every year in Portsmouth and bring along some of the best layouts and traders that you will find on the south coast of England - definitiely worth a visit if you are in the area!
https://victory-model-railway-club.webador.co.uk/
A local group to us, the West Sussex N Gauge Group are a wide range of individuals producing amazing layouts of all shapes and sizes in N gauge. Being half the scale of OO gauge modelling, you can fit a lot of N gauge into a very small space, and these people prove that to the max. Still with all the detail you get on a OO gauge layout, they make sure to include everything you could ever see on a railway, including some with DCC Sound! The uniqueness of N gauge never stops, with layouts from huge 20 feet plus cities, to small working dioramas in briefcases.
www.wsng.co.uk
Another club local to us is the Worthing Model Railway Club. They have 4 layouts which are all absolutely amazingly detailed with everything you can imagine from signals to cable runs, trains covered in graffiti to the washers for those trains. Similarly to Victory Model Railway Club, they are always willing to step in at short notice and make regular appearances at our annual January exhibition. Be sure to say hi to them next time you see them on the circuit!
https://www.worthingmrc.co.uk/
Societies
Many of our members are also members of societies that carry out varying tasks around the country - from model engineering to modelling different gauges, the variation is endless. Click on any part of the blue box to show more information, and click on the screenshot to take you to their website.
7mm narrow gauge association
The 7mm Narrow Gauge Association is both the UK home, but also the international hub for anybody who wants to model in 7mm narrow gauge - this being a combination of OO gauge and O gauge, with the track being modified OO gauge, whilst the bodies of the rolling stock is O gauge being carried on OO gauge wheelsets. Many of our members are also members of this society, and they produce some stunning layouts which mirror the narrow gauge setting beautifully. Along with this, they host various exhibitions, and visit others to show what can be done with narrow gauge.
www.7mmnga.org.uk
As well as the main hub, the 7mm Narrow Gauge Association split down into smaller groups covering all the different areas where people model 7mm narrow gauge - this is the South Downs Area group. They cover all across the South Downs with people volunteering to exhibit their 7mm narrow gauge layouts on behalf of the society. As well as this, they hold an annual exhbition called SWING - [The] Small and Wonderful, Industrial and Narrow Gauge exhbition. This is definitely a show to visit and covers all gauges that incorporate these catergories into their layouts.
www.swing.model-railway.org.uk
The 3mm Society
Along with all the standard gauges you can model in, you can also choose 3mm gauge - this is a scale that sits halfway between OO gauge and N gauge. With some amazing layouts, the people who model in this scale kit or scratch build the majority of things that go onto their layouts, as you cannot buy many 3mm ready-to-run items. This is the pinacle of kit and scratch building, demonstrating what can be done in such a unique scale. Many have had model railway magazine articles and awards at shows, one of them being a member of our club.
sites.google.com/site/3mmpublic/
the southern electric group
A society of interest to many of the people who model Southern electrics within our club is The Southern Electric Group. A hub for information, pictures and research, the Southern Electric Group provides a vital resource for those modelling any period from electrics first uses, right up to the modern day. They publish their own magazine surrounding anything that falls within 'southern electrics' - this is anything on the southern that is powered using electric. On top of all this, they preserve various past electric units for the future generations to enjoy.
www.southernelectric.org.uk
Directories
Utilising directories is very beneficial to the railway modelling society - there are so many shows, traders and societies that by having them in one place makes them much easier to find. Click on any part of the blue box to show more information, and click on the screenshot to take you to their website.
UK Model shop directory
If you ever want to know about a model railway exhibition, model railway shop, a supplier or a club/society in your area, the UK Model Shop Directory is the best place to visit. They have the most comprehensive list in the UK and Ireland of all of these different events, groups and stores that you can visit. Every show will detail visiting layouts and traders (subject to availability), along with the ability to find and visit any number of traders, clubs and societies.
www.ukmodelshops.co.uk
Local Preserved Railways
Alongside modelling the railways you love, you can also visit a large variety of different railways that are all within a 2 and half hour car journey of our base in Aldingbourne. All the railways offer something different to one another and are all unique in their own ways - definitely worth paying them all a visit at some point - you never know, you might fancy taking to the footplate through an experience or volunteering! Click on any part of the blue box to show more information, and click on the screenshot to take you to their website.
Amberley Working Museum
As well as having a narrow gauge railway weaving through its chalky hillside where preserved narrow gauge industrial rolling stock can trundle, Amberley is a fully working heritage museum with all forms of vintage transport and interests to keep you busy for days. On top of this and if you like action, the James Bond film 'A View to a Kill' was filmed here!
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Address: Amberley Museum, New Barn Road, Amberley, Arundel, West Sussex, BN18 9LT
www.amberleymuseum.co.uk // Contact Number: 01798 831370
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Public Transport: A short walk from Amberley railway station, served by a variety of Southern services to and from Littlehampton, Brighton, Chichester, Bognor Regis and London Victoria
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Bluebell railway
Taking you back to the golden age of steam, the Bluebell Railway offers you trips behind historic steam locomotives travelling through 11 miles of beautiful Sussex scenery on board stunningly restored coaches - they really do take you back to the good old days of steam and provide a completely unforgetable experience to both young and old alike.
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Address: The Bluebell Railway, Sheffield Park Station, East Sussex, TN22 3QL
www.bluebell-railway.co.uk // Contact Number: 01825 720800 |
Public Transport: Bus stops at Horsted Keynes and East Grinstead serving various Metrobus services, a bus stop at Sheffield Park serving Compass Travel buses and regular Southern services to and from East Grinstead.
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Kent & East Sussex railway
Still maintaining that light railway feel, the Kent and East Sussex Railway is a small but very stunning railway running through the middle of the Kent and East Sussex scenery. They have a little treasure trove of rolling stock and always maintain it to the highest standard, offering trips on the line and also on their miniature railway.
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Address: Tenterden Town Station, Station Road, Tenterden, Kent, TN30 6HE
www.kesr.org.uk // Contact Number: 01580 765155
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Public Transport: A short walk from bus stops serving Stagecoach routes 2/2A, 12/12RL, 297 and 340, along with Arriva route 12 services.
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Mid-hants railway (watercress line)
Trundling through the 10 miles of beautiful scenery between the market towns of Alton and Alresford, the Mid Hants Railway, also known as the Watercress Line for its involvement in transporting the crop, now transports visiotrs through time back to the wonderful days of steam. The steep bank out of Alton provides a great chance to see the steam locomotives working at their max.
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Address: Mid Hants Railway Ltd 'Watercress Line', The Railway Station, Alresford, Hampshire, SO24 9JG
www.watercressline.co.uk // Contact Number: 01962 733810
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Public Transport: A direct link at Alton with Network Rail, served by South Western Railway services to and from Woking and London Waterloo
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South Downs light railway
Nestled within a garden centre in Pulborough, the South Downs Light Railway boasts an impresively long round circuit constructed on 10 1/4" gauge track. Visitors can travel around the line in style, being hauled by one of the many steam locomotives owned by the comapny - this being one of the most varied collections in the country!
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Address: South Downs Light Railway Society Ltd, Stopham Road Station, Pulborough Garden Centre, Pulborough, West Sussex, RH20 1DS
www.south-downs-railway.com // Contact Number: 07518 753784
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Public Transport: Bus stop outside the garden centre served by Stagecoach route 1, and a short walk from Pulborough railway station served by a variety of Southern services
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Spa VAlley railway
Travelling between Tunbridge Wells West and the mainline at Eridge, the Spa Valley Railway is a forgotten link in the National Network bought back to life by the hard work of volunteers determined not to let it be. Visitors can now travel back in time to both steam and diesel periods - you can even get some good noise and speeds out of the locomotives when they go towards Eridge!
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Address: Wealden Station Co. Ltd, West Station, Nevill Terrace, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5QY
www.spavalleyrailway.co.uk // 01892 300141
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Public Transport: Served by Southern services to/from Uckfield/East Croydon at Eridge, along with Southeastern services at Tunbridge Wells station plus various bus companies and services to both Tunridge Wells West and Eridge
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Swanage railway
Transporting visitors through the stunning scenery that is the Isle of Purbeck, the Swanage Railway boasts an impresive 10 miles of track with varying gradients all the way to add some noise and variation to the journey. On top of this, they are nearly able to run to Wareham on the mainline, providing an easy link to the railway from absolutely anywhere!
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Address: Swanage Railway, Station House, Swanage, Dorset, BH19 1HB
www.swanagerailway.co.uk // Contact Number: 01929 425800
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Public Transport: Served by Purbeck Breezers 40 (to and from Poole) and 50 (to and from Bournemouth), along with various other Morebus services.
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Other Useful Links
Along with the stores, clubs, societies, directories and preserved railways, there are a couple of other useful links that are great to know for if you want to do some trainspotting or if you have a question regarding your layout, rolling stock or a general enquiry surround model railways. Below are the links to two of these that members of our club use and are one of the best websites of their kind readily available on the internet. Click on any part of the blue box to show more information, and click on the screenshot to take you to their website.
Railcam UK
Having the ability to go out and trainspot is not always available, but Railcam UK have made it possible to bring the railway to us. Through a vast array of cameras dotted up and down the country, Railcam UK streams live video footage from the lineside straight to our armchairs. The cameras cover every major line in the UK along with a wide range of heritage lines, and sees everything 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, as well as live signalling diagrams to go with. Railcam UK now also have a range of cameras abroad covering a whole new variety of railway.
www.railcam.uk
RMWeb Forum
When you have a question regarding something to do with your layouts, rolling stock or just a general enquiry, emailing or calling suppliers is not always the best option as they may not always know the answer. This is where RMWeb Forums come in. Their forums are full of budding railway modellers always ready to help, offering the best advice and guidance wherever they can. You can search for your answer on previous forum posts, but if you cannot find an answer, do not feel afriad to create a post and someone will always be able to help you.
www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php
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