Kentish Express Ashford & District
Railway museum finds permanent home in town
Model centre moving to shopping centre after Elwick Place
After years of effort and uncertainty, a model railway museum will finally be moving into its first home next month.
The Ashford International Model Railway Education Centre (AIMREC) will be occupying a unit in the Elwick Place leisure complex from Saturday, December 7, ahead of a move to a permanent home to a shopping centre in the town.
Plans for the model railway museum emerged in February 2014, and quickly gained support from celebrities including musicians Jools Holland, Pete Waterman and Roger Daltrey.
Project lead Cliff Parsons originally eyed the Klondyke Works site on Newtown Road.
However land contamination concerns made development unfeasibly expensive for the group.
Soon, the museum will be relocating to a permanent home - a 38,000 sq ft unit at the County Square shopping centre.
Now, the museum has been offered a showcase suite at Elwick Place, where it will join the likes of food supplier Macknade and Recursive Media.
Sample layouts and dioramas of differing sizes and scales will be displayed, and visitors to the free museum can read information about model railways and their designs.
The launch’s announcement comes at a time of great interest in the borough’s hobbyist scene.
The ‘Railmen of Kent’ - a group of enthusiasts from the borough - won Saturday’s final of Channel 5’s The Great Model Railway Challenge, triumphing over three rival teams with their complex Harry Potter and St Pancras-themed builds.
Some of the layouts featured on the show are hoped to be moving there and members of the team will be on hand at the launch event to meet visitors and talk about their experience on the show.
The showroom is hoping to entice potential visitors and investors before AIMREC moves onto its new County Square home.
The free admission museum will be open from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays from December 7.
■ If you would like to volunteer to help man the layouts at the suite, explain the concept and AIMREC's vision, or to help at the future centre, contact the museum at friends@aimrec. co.uk
A broken down steam train caused serious travel disruption at the weekend.
The Golden Arrow broke down at around 1.30pm near Bearsted, Maidstone, on Saturday afternoon.
Photographers were left waiting to catch a glimpse of the steam locomotive on its journey toward Ashford International and eventually Canterbury, as the train didn’t start moving again until 3.15pm.
Ellie Crook, who is studying photography, thought she wouldn’t get a chance to see it. The West Kent and Ashford student said: “I waited at Bolleaux Crossing near Orchard Lane waiting in prime spot to photograph it going past.
“I waited for two hours and it never went, I was a bit upset I didn’t see it so I thought I’d get a bus to the station.
“I ran into the station and down to the platforms and then it was still there waiting for a green signal to go. It must have been there for 10 minutes so I was in my element.”
During the disruption Southeastern trains between London Victoria and Ashford International via Maidstone East were diverted via Tonbridge.
Trains were able to run from Ashford International towards Maidstone East., however services were stopped between Otford and Maidstone East.
Replacement buses ran between Otford, Maidstone East and Ashford International instead.
The steam train was supposed to be heading to Canterbury and was moving again just before 3.15pm.