50th Anniversary of the New Forest Model Railway Society

This year (2025) marks the 50th anniversary of the New Forest Model Railway Society.

On the 16th September 1975, a group of seven founder members, including John Linnell, met at the Wheel Inn, at Pennington in the New Forest, to discuss forming a model railway club.

An advertisement was placed in a local newspaper, and two weeks later, on the 30th September, 21 prospective members, including Ken Hatchett and John Dedman (who is still a current member), met at the Wheel Inn.

A week later, the group met at their first clubroom, which was situated in the Lymington Community Centre. They met every Tuesday evening for the next four and a half years. Work started immediately on the construction of baseboards, with the first train running on the now named Brookley Road layout in April 1976, with scenery and buildings still under construction.

In May 1978, the club, in conjunction with the New Milton O Gauge Group, held their first exhibition at New Milton Junior School. The club also held a special running night on the last Tuesday before Christmas 1978 for friends and family, which, according to notes made at the time, was a great success.

It was not until January 1982, after several changes of clubroom, that the club moved onto the current site in Highwood Road, Brockenhurst, albeit a pre-fabricated annexe. The new Brockenhurst Village Hall was completed in 1983, with the club moving in almost immediately and holding the first exhibition in the hall during May 1983. Annual two-day exhibitions are held in May, with the club open day every November. See our website 'Diary' page for details of forthcoming events.

The club boasts layouts Mossbank Yard, a 25' x 10' OO, Hollybank Depot, modern image layouts, Knightwood, a 1950s OO layout, Wotchumgobye, a 16' x 11' OO steam era DCC layout with a DC controlled 009 branch. Under construction are an N gauge layout of around 12' x 4' and a Southern OO gauge layout of 16' x 2', which is planned to be DCC. Our website 'Layouts' page details not only these layouts but also members' layouts that have appeared at our exhibitions.

To commemorate the club's 50th anniversary, we commissioned Dapol to produce a limited number of 7 plank wagons that carry the name of J F Fox, Coal Merchant, Brockenhurst. John was a lifelong N gauge enthusiast, and club chairman for several years, and recently bequeathed the club sufficient funds to produce these wagons in N and OO gauge. A good way to commemorate his service to the club.