A MODEL railway society is set to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

East Dorset N Gauge Society will mark the milestone with a celebration on Saturday, July 20.

The society was started by Yvonne and Michael Shillabeer, after calling a meeting of local N Gauge Society members at Pelhams in 1993, with the group officially forming the following year.

Around 20 members attended the first meeting, and the first committee decided to form a group that would be affiliated to the national N Gauge Society.

The group is now one of the oldest groups connected to the society.

Initially, the group members brought track to run trains and chatted about model railways and discussions were had over a group layout, but this was shelved due to a lack of storage space.

It was then decided each member would build a small part of a layout that would be fitted together in a modular system, creating a layout at each club night.

The group hosted its first exhibition at Pelhams in October 2007 to raise funds to continue building and funding the group layout and running costs.

These exhibitions continue to play a part for funding the club, which currently has 26 members aged from 17-years-old and above.

In 2023, the former chairman, Paul Knight, stepped down after a decade at the helm, with Duncan Jones voted in.

The group aims to provide a welcoming and safe place to share the hobby and learn skills from each other, also running excursions across the year.

The celebration event for the group’s 30th anniversary will see existing members, previous chairmen, members and their families attend.

The event will take place between 10am and 3.30pm on Saturday, July 20 at the Kinson community centre, Pelhams Park.

Tickets cost £4 for adults, with children under 16 going free.

A number of layouts have been confirmed for the event, including Benbridge, Sarahs Falls and Penworth, as well as layouts from the West Sussex group and a modular layout from Newport in Wales.

There will also be trade support on the day.