The Staines Model Railway Society
Our local club was formed at an inaugural meeting held in Staines (old) Town Hall on September 7th 1965. The initial committee comprised Terry Wheelwright (secretary), John Adams (treasurer) and Tony Dyer (chairman), with Chris Leigh as Exhibition Manager and Andrew Waller leading a junior group (under 18’s). Meetings were held on Tuesday evenings in a side room of the main Town Hall building off Clarence Street in Staines, then later at a modern scout hut in Laleham.
The first item constructed was a portable test track 12ft x 8ft upon which members could run models they had built at home. The first running session was held on 28th December 1965, barely three months after start-up.......
In the left hand picture Tony is at left, with Paul Chamberlain in the bright white shirt and tie. 6th from left with ciggie in mouth is Mike Beard, with large hammer poised over my newly-converted GWR carriages, showing where his loyalties did (not) lie. Terry is next, then Paul Bartlett with Chris Leigh on the end. The right hand view has Paul C. then Mike, Chris attempting to hide behind a magazine, Paul B and (unknown). Having served its purpose, this test track was converted to a full layout, “Wallerford” by the junior group members.
The first major layout project undertaken was a scale representation of the GWR terminus station at Staines West, which had just then closed down. This was some 27ft long and constructed over a period of 10 months from January 1966. It was ready in time to form the centrepiece of the club’s first exhibition, held in Staines Town Hall on 19-20 November 1966. These pictures are quite poor due to difficult lighting and the crowds, but give an impression of the scale of the Staines West model......
The first major layout project undertaken was a scale representation of the GWR terminus station at Staines West, which had just then closed down. This was some 27ft long and constructed over a period of 10 months from January 1966. It was ready in time to form the centrepiece of the club’s first exhibition, held in Staines Town Hall on 19-20 November 1966. These pictures are quite poor due to difficult lighting and the crowds, but give an impression of the scale of the Staines West model......
The exhibition was a great success; here are two local newspaper cuttings reporting the following week......
It became an annual event; on 4-5 November 1967 Staines West was shown again together with 9 other layouts, static exhibits and a few trade stands, a commendable effort for a fairly new and small group.
The next major change was the search for permanent clubhouse premises. After some time, a patch of unused ground adjacent to the Hummer Road car park was rented from Egham Urban District Council, a former industrial storage shed was obtained by two members, dismantled and re-erected on this site by volunteer working parties. The pictures below show the early stages, on 23rd August 1969, with Chris and his fiancée Diane looking on.....
The next major change was the search for permanent clubhouse premises. After some time, a patch of unused ground adjacent to the Hummer Road car park was rented from Egham Urban District Council, a former industrial storage shed was obtained by two members, dismantled and re-erected on this site by volunteer working parties. The pictures below show the early stages, on 23rd August 1969, with Chris and his fiancée Diane looking on.....
and here nearing completion on 27th December that year......
By July 1971 the clubroom was filled with layouts and other artefacts, sufficiently well established for a public open-day to be held on the 4th of that month. These pictures show the view greeting visitors at the main doorway, and Chris operating his splendid “OO” gauge model of the GWR branch terminus station at St Ives, Cornwall.....
The name was changed to the Egham & Staines Model Railway Society to reflect the change of venue, and as such it continues to flourish, in the same building on the same site, to this day.
© K. A Jaggers December 2010
© K. A Jaggers December 2010