1986 to 1991: The Formative years

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A personal account by Nigel Godsell, the last chairman of the Upwey & Broadwey Model Railway Club who became the first chairman of the Weymouth Model Railway Association, that incorporates information provided by the two founders of the club and its chairman for the first three years of existence.

 Introduction

The Weymouth Model Railway Association was formed in March 1991 by the merger of the Model Railway Group of the Weymouth and District Model Club  with the Upwey and Broadwey Model Railway Club. Concerns over the dwindling membership of the Weymouth & District club led to the consideration of a merger. It just so happened that the majority of the key personnel in the Weymouth & District club (at the time of the merger) were, in fact, already members of the Upwey and Broadwey MRC. With hindsight, there is little doubt that the Weymouth MRA's greatest contributor was the Upwey and Broadwey MRC. 

So what’s related here (under the guise of the early history of the Weymouth MRA) is the story of the Upwey and Broadwey MRC with its two local heroes: Roger Bartlett and Phil Crocker.

Central to the story is the ultimately successful construction, somewhat against the odds, of a large exhibition model railway layout based on the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway’s Evercreech Junction as it was in the BR steam era.

 
View looking in a southerly direction along the Up platform at Evercreech Junction as recreated.
Still a lot of work to be done especially on the platforms when this photo was taken.

 

I've separated the story into digestible chunks as follows...

(I've managed to find some pictures. Hopefully I can get hold of some more! In particular our layout in its more finished form.)

PART 1 - How it all started	PART 4 - Progress, But at What Price
PART 2 - A New Model Railway Club in Weymouth	PART 5 - Start of Weymouth's Model Railway Exhibition
PART 3 - Volunteer at Your Peril	PART 6 - Real Achievements and Change

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Acknowledgements

I’d like to express my gratitude to friends Roger Bartlett, Phil Crocker and Derek Stanhope for their contribution to the very early history of the Association documented here, thus making this an accurate, albeit personal account. Regrettably, both Roger and Phil have now left the Association.

This account of the formative years of the Association would not be complete without acknowledgement of the extraordinary effort, dedication and loyalty of members:

• (friends) Mike Lloyd, Roger Tozer, Ron Herbert, George Dyer and Graham Garton.

• (late friends) Geoff Youell, Chris Carter and Jimmy Malcolm.

I’d also like to note here the willing help and tireless support of past stalwarts: Dave Riches*, Roger Miller*, Gerry Fusco, Andy Marriott, Phil and Richard Salmon, Lew Peters*, Paul Cox, Alan Jeanes, John New, Ron Sibley*, Ken Wilkes*, Dave* and Alan Samuel not forgetting Sandy, Alan Comben, and last but not least, Liz and Nicola Crocker. (* indicates those still members.)