Plans are well under way for the 20th annual Calne model rail show, which attracted nearly 2,000 people last year.

The show, organised by the Chippenham-based Bentley Model Railway Group, will be held at the Calne Leisure Centre from January 19-20.

It will include 15 working layouts representing the railways of Britain, Germany, Switzerland, the USA and Australia from the 1920s to the present day.

There will be 30 different stands in total showing trains of all shapes and sizes, including a 40ft long model of a typical Wiltshire railway.

The club started in the 1970s when it was set up by pupils at the John Bentley School, including the current exhibition manager Geoff Endacott. They now meet at the Weigh Bridge, round the back of Chippenham Railway Station.

Mr Endacott said the group also holds shows at Melksham and Chippenham, but the Calne show was always the best attended.

He said: “The Calne show is very much going back to our roots, we’re holding it in a building which we watched being built at the time when we were pupils at the school.”

The event is open from 10am to 5pm each day. Tickets are £4 for seniors, £3 for children and £10 for a family, which includes two adults and two children.

Money raised will cover show costs and the model trains. Any surplus will go towards the cost of renting the club’s meeting room.

For more information, visit www.calnemrs.org.uk