Felixstowe Area - 'N' Gauge Group, which is one of a number of groups worldwide affiliated to the ‘N’ Gauge Society, was formed in the 1990’s by Chris Shum with a small nucleus of ‘N’ gauge modelers from the local area.
The group first met monthly on a Thursday evening in Chris’ front room, which rapidly became very crowded. The group has continued to grow over the years. Fortunately, Chris was offered the use of the Old Farm Shop at Great Street Farm around 2009, and so the group were then able to meet weekly and had space to work on member’s layouts, something which had previously only happened at member’s homes. Here’s Chris to tell you even more and their recent news…
In 2005 three Open Days were held in Trimley St. Mary Church. Entry to these events was, and still is FREE. The groups own modular layout, which has grown over the years with modules being built by various members, together with layouts built by club members, and some visiting layouts have been a feature of these events. More recently we have had a local trade stand and a second-hand stall. Interest in these Open Days has grown over the years, but a decision was reluctantly made reduced these Open Day to two, one in March and one in October, as the number of other events we were being invited to attend increased.
In 2002 the group held their first Felixstowe ‘N’ Gauge Model Railway Show in the Trinity Methodist Church Hall in Felixstowe. These events have attracted an ever-increasing number of layouts from other groups and have proved a useful source of income.
In 2019 we learned that we were no longer able to use the Trinity Methodist Church for our Felixstowe Show. Thus began the search for a new venue and this is still ongoing. Subsequently the decision has been made to hold three Open Days until such time as a new venue is found.
The arrival of the Covid lockdowns obviously affected our activities, but meetings continued to be held, with a controlled number of members attending, until the restrictions were finally lifted. We are now thankfully back to normal but are still looking for a new venue for our Felixstowe Show.
New members are always welcome, and you can find out more by contacting Chris Shum on 01394 277211 or on our web site – www.felixstowengauge.org.co
Article written by,
Peter Bedwell