Ref. 27906-13EXHIBITORS from around the country descended on Swindon for Modrail 2003 on a weekend when the hosts celebrated their 50th anniversary.

The show, organised by Swindon Model Railway Club, featured a special display of archive material dating back to October 12 1953, when half-a-dozen keen modellers decided to form the organisation.

Chairman Neil Tiley, who is currently researching the club's history, was stunned when he discovered the original minutes book among ageing paperwork.

It told how the first locomotive built entirely in Swindon, North Star, was adopted as the club's logo.

He used it, along with photos from former members, including many by Reg Palk, to form the display.

"One of our former secretaries, John Wood, was very meticulous with his records and I felt they ought to be utilised more widely," he explained.

Gradually he was beginning to build up a picture of how the club had changed with the times, he said.

Many of the original members were employed at the Swindon works building the real thing. Now members ranged from telecoms engineers to aircraft designers.

A memorial cup named after Mr Wood, who was secretary for over 21 years, was won during the weekend by Terry Yeend from Wolverhampton.

Exhibition organiser Mike Lewis, said there had been a good number of visitors to the show at Greendown Community School, but the morning of the rugby championship match against Australia had been quieter than usual.

"We managed to keep up with the score because there were lots of radios and portable televisions around," he said. "When we won, everyone gave a cheer."

tclarke@newswilts.co.uk