The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
All aboard for model event
Up to 1,300 model railway enthusiasts are on track to visit St Andrews this weekend for an annual exhibition.
The East Neuk Model Railway Club has planned an impressive display of tracks and engines from a bygone age.
Locals can take a trip down memory lane thanks to layouts of the old St Andrews and Guardbridge railway from the 1950s.
The real track closed in 1965.
And clubs from further afield will show off their own displays of real railway lines in miniature form.
Exhibition manager Arran Aird has been a member of the Pittenweem-based East Neuk club for 26 years.
And he says there is still a strong interest in the annual shows.
According to Arran, audiences are far more diverse now than in days gone by when railway connoisseurs were almost exclusively male.
“We get a lot of women and girls coming now and there’s plenty for kids too,” he said.
This year the offering includes a Lego railway that youngsters can play with.
And there will be 10 working layouts thanks to the involvement of model railway clubs from Cupar, Glenrothes and Perth.
Clubs from Bradford and Hull are also travelling hundreds of miles to St Andrews to show off their own offerings.
Arran added: “The show has been going for 26 years and I’ve been involved for 25.
“It’s really popular and usually attracts between 1,100 and 1,300 people over the course of the weekend.
“There really is a lot of interest out there.
“I grew up playing with trains and model railways so it’s been a lifelong hobby for me.”
The St Andrews Model Railway Exhibition was originally held in Madras College, South Street, before moving to St Andrews Town Hall, which is closed.
This year’s event will take place in the students’ union in St Mary’s Place today and tomorrow.
It runs from 10am to 5.30pm today and 10.30am to 5pm tomorrow.
Entry is £5 for adults, £2.50 for children and £12.50 for a family.