MODEL railway fans descended on Calne Leisure Centre over the weekend for the annual Calne Model Railway Show, organised by members of the Bentley Model Railway Group.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of the annual exhibition, but is only the third to take place since the club moved its base to Calne.

Organiser Geoff Endacott said the event was a great success: "We had 1526 people attending over the weekend - even more than last year. We have a wide range of exhibits, as different things appeal to different people."

With 17 working layouts representing railways from the steam trains of the last century to the diesels and electrics of the present day, railway enthusiasts found plenty to marvel at and talk about.

The layouts included Bentley MRG’s Pengwynn Crossing, depicting a desolate branch line winding through the Cornish countryside, set in the earlu 1960s, and Chilcompton Tunnel by Steve Joanes , based on the famous Somerset and Dorset Railway, which ran from Bath Green Park to Bournemouth West.

In contrast, Project Iraq by Tony and Kate Bennett depicts a scene near Basra in Iraq in 2003, with the British Army taking stock of the situation on Operation Talic. More than 20 vehicles and 125 figures are shown in cameo scenes.

The event included 14 trade stands to give model railway enthusiasts ample opportunity to spend their Christmas money, and a fund-raising stand for the new Dyson Cancer Centre at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, in memory of former chairman, Chris Young, who was cared for by the hospital last year and sadly died in October.

Three years ago the group moved to an industrial unit on the Porte Marsh Estate. Since then a small but dedicated group of members have transformed the building beyond all recognition.

Grants from the Calne Area Board of Wiltshire Council, the Aaron Lewis Foundation and Calne Town Council have enabled the group to install a disabled toilet and a stair lift.

The next event on the Bentley Model Railway Group's calendar is their flagship project, Train West, the biggest model railway show in Wiltshire. This takes place April 13-14 at the Springfield Campus in Corsham.

For more information about Train West and the group, visit the website brg.org.uk.