About Us
The club was first formed in June 1998 by 3 friends (David, John & Trevor C) who wanted to enjoy various aspects of modelling and their hobbies. The original name, the Group of Ellesmere Modellers (GEM) was chosen to reflect the variations of the hobby that the earlier members preferred. John and David worked closely with model railways and, like the others from those days, enjoyed radio controlled boats.
John sadly passed away on 23rd January 2015, but he still tinkered with kits up until he was hospitalized. In 2007 he presented his N gauge "ELLESMERE" layout based on the towns Cambrian / GWR railway to the club. He had also donated his 009 gauge "KWITCHABELIAIKIN" layout (a 35 .5 foot long) fictitious railway, loosely based on Ellesmere Wharf and the Peat Moss near Whixall) to EMRC with the intention that we continue to promote the hobby to all. Unfortunately the layout was very badly water damaged but we have managed to salvage the 3 main sections he was most proud of; we have now rebuilt and run the shortened layout under its new name "MERES & MOSSES LIGHT RAILWAY". He had plans to start a new layout for winter 2014 - 2015, but it was never started.
Trevor eventually moved away from the area. His model boats were absolutely superb and were of the highest museum quality finish.
David (still currently the chairman! Any volunteers, please?) had worked in several film & tv departments over the years with sci-fi props & models and was then worked for the Dapol Model Railway & BBC Exhibition Centre in Llangollen so has various skills and experience to pass on; hence why he initially started the club. As a Westerns fan, he always loved the old American Standard 4-4-0 wood burners and their like, with their wide smoke stacks belching thick black smoke and sparks, and the front triangular pilots or cowcatchers. Currently a Moderator on the History Forum of the Bonanza Boomers website, writing articles about the historic railroads of the west, he is designing his own HO layout loosely based on the old Virginia & Truckee Railroad in Nevada, with some influences from other more scenic railroads like the Durango & Silverton Railroad.
Eighteen plus years later, and David is now the last of the original founder members though Big Dave had joined nine years previously. It has moved on over the last few years from a general modelling club to concentrate purely on model railways, and now has a small membership of enthusiasts which include Chris (Treasurer), Ian (Secretary), Big Dave, Frank (for years known as Jack), Peter, Colin, Les, Malcolm, and on some occasions Barry. More recently Jim and his grandson Jacob, Pam, Joy, Pete, David and now John have joined too.
It was agreed to change the club name to Ellesmere Model Railway Club and the 2014 model railway show during the Ellesmere Festival weekend (13th & 14th September) saw the new club name and logo succeed the old one.
We welcome anyone who has an interest in model railways and would like to come to one of our monthly meetings or workshop days. You never know, you might want to join us, the more the merrier. Tea, coffee and biscuits are the order of the day. Just contact David via the link on the contacts page. You can also look us up on Facebook, though I'm still trying to get my head around that one! Anyone interested in taking that on?
We are now based at Criftins Parish Hall in Dudleston Heath, 2.5 miles outside Ellesmere on the B5068. Criftins offers us storage and an area where we can meet up, somewhere to work on renovations and new projects, and eventually hold other shows and track open days. Workshop days are held on Tuesday day times from 10 am till 4 pm, with a 10 am business meeting on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, and an evening session on the last Tuesday of the month from 7.30 pm till 10 pm. We have started work on a new long term 00 Gauge project and have ample space in which to build and store it... which gives me my workshop back for my own American HO Gauge layout project!
Eighteen plus years later, and David is now the last of the original founder members though Big Dave had joined nine years previously. It has moved on over the last few years from a general modelling club to concentrate purely on model railways, and now has a small membership of enthusiasts which include Chris (Treasurer), Ian (Secretary), Big Dave, Frank (for years known as Jack), Peter, Colin, Les, Malcolm, and on some occasions Barry. More recently Jim and his grandson Jacob, Pam, Joy, Pete, David and now John have joined too.
It was agreed to change the club name to Ellesmere Model Railway Club and the 2014 model railway show during the Ellesmere Festival weekend (13th & 14th September) saw the new club name and logo succeed the old one.
We welcome anyone who has an interest in model railways and would like to come to one of our monthly meetings or workshop days. You never know, you might want to join us, the more the merrier. Tea, coffee and biscuits are the order of the day. Just contact David via the link on the contacts page. You can also look us up on Facebook, though I'm still trying to get my head around that one! Anyone interested in taking that on?
We are now based at Criftins Parish Hall in Dudleston Heath, 2.5 miles outside Ellesmere on the B5068. Criftins offers us storage and an area where we can meet up, somewhere to work on renovations and new projects, and eventually hold other shows and track open days. Workshop days are held on Tuesday day times from 10 am till 4 pm, with a 10 am business meeting on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, and an evening session on the last Tuesday of the month from 7.30 pm till 10 pm. We have started work on a new long term 00 Gauge project and have ample space in which to build and store it... which gives me my workshop back for my own American HO Gauge layout project!
