It will be a show like no other... featuring displays and exhibitions taking us back 70 years to mark the anniversary of D-Day and also highlighting the work of talented Norfolk model makers.
The members of the Norfolk Military Vehicle Group will be out in force for the annual exhibition staged by the Norwich Model Railway Club at Hellesdon High School on Saturday April 12.
Their Second World War vehicles always look the part along with members of the group in their American and British uniforms and, with the NMRC, they will be supporting Help for Heroes.
They will set the scene for a whole host of attractions on offer inside the school.
It will be a show proving we have some very talented people in our midst. Model makers who are a real class act.
A highlight will be a magnificent model of Rowland's Castle station, built and operated by Pete Goss, at around the time of D-Day which includes lots of military detail as well as historically researched train combinations.
Rowland's Castle, on the Hampshire/West Sussex county border, was a busy place back in 1944 and the model railway shows the station as it would have been at the time along with the village itself which includes three pubs and a chapel.
Train compositions are based on historical research and first-hand accounts, They include government pooled goods and troop trains – all preparing for the invasion. The station lies on the Portsmouth Direct main line from Waterloo to Portsmouth and Portsmouth Harbour.
This is a wonderful opportunity for Norfolk people to see the display. The layout has been to more than 20 shows, across this country and abroad, since its first appearance at Hull in 2008. The layout has won several awards including the prestigious Railway Modeller Magazine Cup.
Apart from a glorious selection of displays and lay-outs from the Norwich club, which was formed back in 1958, members of the Norwich Model Boat Club, who meet at Eaton Park, will also be taking part and will be displaying a fantastic working model of the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes which served as the flagship of the British Forces during the 1982 Falklands War.
'This will be the last chance for us to see it in Norfolk as this wonderful, all-action, model has been donated to a museum in Yorkshire,' said one of the exhibition organisers Paddy Welsh.
'I am so pleased that railway and boat modellers are getting together to show off their work,' he added.
There will also be demonstrations. Roy Hickman, of the Model Landscape Co., will be showing how to make trees, hedges, flowers and fencing from everyday materials plus trade stands showcasing model equipment made at Great Ellingham and in Norwich.
Norwich Model Railway Club Exhibition is being held at Hellesdon High School, Middletons Lane, Hellesdon, on Saturday April 12 from 10am to 4.30pm. Admission: adults £5, concs £4.50, accompanied under 16s free. There is free parking and refreshments will be available throughout the day.
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