ClubHistory6

Olney Model Railway Club History

2021

At the start of the year, we heard the sad news that one of the founder members of the Club, Phil Maxwell, had passed away one moth short of his 94th birthday.

The Club remained closed during the early part of the year whilst the country battled with the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic. A restart was not possible until the end of May when we were allowed to re-open, albeit with a stringent Action Plan in place to restrict transmission of the virus.

Restrictions were finally eased in July and we returned to relative normality after a lengthy period of inactivity.

We were unable to hold an Exhibition during the year but we did manage to hold an AGM. Alan, Malcolm and Chris were re-elected to serve on the Management Committee and we put in place plans to resume full activities as soon as we were allowed.

Work on the Olney layout restarted and plans were put in place to update/replace both the Bridge End (OO) and Market Cross (N) layouts. Work on installing a lift-out section to the Test Track was also nearing completion.

2022

A year of recovery following the cessation of Covid 19 restrictions.

It was a good year for recruitment and no less than 7 new Members joined during the year.

Work on our Olney layout was completed, apart from a few minor issues, and the lift-out section on the Test Track was finally brought into use, thus enabling us to access all parts of the main Clubroom with relative ease.

The future of Bridge End (OO) was still to be determined, but all track and scenery was removed from the old Market Cross (N) layout and a new layout designed.

Our exhibition layout, Bucklebury Lane (OO), was also completed.

Our first Annual Exhibition since 2019 was held in the Carlton House Club in September and proved to be another very successful event. Visitor numbers totalled 143.Income was £1082.44 and Expenditure was £540.44, leaving a profit of £542.00 for the Club funds. Layouts exhibited were:

Olney (OO) – OMRC
Bucklebury Lane (OO) – OMRC
Thomas and Friends (N) – Jeremy Burrows (OMRC)
Warmsley (N) – Peter Johnston
Lindsell Town (OO) – Brian Silby
Southgate DMU (OO) – Shaun Greet
Kirkbridge (OO) – Lee Brown
Templegate Wagon Works (O) – Dave Tailby
Dublingham Goods (OO) – Tony Harris
Ashcombe (N) – Anthony Hubbard
Smallbridge Junction (009) – Dale Gillard

At the AGM Ken Knowles, ex-Chairman and long standing Club member, was elected as a Honorary Life Member and Alan, Malcolm and Chris were once again re-elected to serve on the Management Committee.

2023

A year of steady progress. We increased our Membership, held a very successful Exhibition and stabilised our financial position.

The highlight of the year was undoubtedly our Olney layout being featured in the September edition of the British Railway Modelling (BRM) magazine. Following the photo shoot by the renowned BRM photographer, Tony Wright, the accompanying magazine article was pulled together and edited by Barrie, who himself is distinguished, published author. A great effort by all concerned, raising the profile of the Club.

The Olney layout was completed, work on the replacement of both the Bridge End (OO) and Market Cross (N) layouts commenced and a short extension was added to Bucklebury Lane (OO) to increase operational interest. The Club Test Track remained unchanged.

A layout storage facility was designed and built by Keith at the top of the main staircase, together with a new sliding entrance door to the main Clubroom.

Our September Exhibition turned out to be another very successful event. Visitor numbers totalled 120. Income was £1138.50 and Expenditure was £595.41, leaving a profit of £543.09 for the Club funds. Layouts exhibited were:

Tinners Wharf (N) – Peter Johnston
Bucklebury Lane (OO) – OMRC
Wilne Lane Yard (O) – Alan Thompson
Quarry End (009) – Dale Gillard
Ivybridge (N) – Robin Edwards
Lynch Cutting (OO) – Chris Toyer (OMRC)
Top Yard (EM) – Dave Tailby
Kinross (OO) – Brian Silby
Sorrento Park (TT) – Rod Shaw
Underground Ernie (OO) – Corby MRC
Olney (OO) - OMRC

At the AGM, Club Chairman Alan, stood down after six years service and was replaced by David Morris. Malcolm and Chris were re-elected to serve alongside David on the Management Committee.

2024

The year turned out to be a very challenging one indeed.

Not only did we lose Ken Knowles and Alan Beresford, both of whom had been previous Chairs of OMRC, but we also lost our long-term tenancy of our Clubroom at the Carlton House Club, due to the old stable block being put up for sale for redevelopment purposes. We formally terminated our tenancy on 31 October 2024 and handed the keys back to our landlord.

This meant that that our annual Exhibition, scheduled for September, had to be cancelled to enable us to concentrate our efforts on clearing out the Clubroom and beginning a search for a new, permanent home.

As a result of this upheaval, the Olney layout was dismantled and donated to the Railworld Wildlife Haven in Peterborough and Bucklebury Lane was taken into storage by John. Additionally, David M took responsibility for the OO and N gauge boards and Keith took the remaining Club assets.

Whilst we unsuccessful in our search for suitable, purpose-built accommodation, we eventually managed to secure a regular Thursday evening slot at The Olney Centre, which gave us a stable base, ensuring that the Club survived in the short term. It was particularly pleasing that membership levels remained stable during this period of transition.

At the AGM, the Management Committee, consisting of David M, Malcolm and Chris, were re-elected en-bloc.

The following objectives were agreed:

• Continue the search for a new, permanent home.

• Design and construct a suitable test track system for use in the Olney Centre.

• Investigate the possibility of holding an Exhibition at the Olney Centre, Carlton House Club or other suitable venue.

• Progress the existing OO and N gauge layouts.
• Hold occasional quizzes, demonstrations, group modelling evenings and talks.

• Upgrade the website and improve both internal and external communications.

2025

As our search for permanent accommodation continued, we took the decision to extend our agreement with the Olney Centre on an open-ended basis. In addition, we managed to secure an on-going, rent free agreement, for the use of the old British School on Weston Road whilst the owner of the property prepared a planning application to convert the building into residential accommodation.

We transferred both the Bucklebury Lane and N Gauge layout boards into the school to enable work to continue on both projects. Consequently, work commenced on converting Bucklebury Lane from an end-to-end to a continuous run layout and new boards, constructed and added to from those previously made, were built for the as yet un-named N Gauge layout.

A decision was also taken to build a portable, multi-gauge test track for use at the Olney Centre to enable Members to run their own, personal rolling stock at our weekly evening meetings. The boards were designed and built by Keith and the tracks (1 x O, 2 x OO and 1 x N) were laid and wired by David M, Chris, Dave Croft and John. Keith also sourced and converted an old trolley to enable the test track to be securely stored at the Olney Centre.

Our September Exhibition was held, for the first time, at the Olney Centre and proved to be another very successful event. Visitor numbers totalled 134. Income was £1593.40 and Expenditure was £1028.05, leaving a profit of £565.35 for the Club funds. Layouts exhibited were:

Three Bridges (N) – David Woodcock
Sorrento Park (TT-120) – Rod Shaw
Cwm Bach (O) – Mark Wilson (OMRC)
Daisyfield Yard (OO) – Jack Palister
Liddle Town (N) – David Smith
Southdale (OO) – Robin Edwards
Tony’s Forest (7mm Narrow Gauge) – Robin Edwards
Quarry End (OO9) – Dale Gillard
Billingham Street (O) – Les Williams
Victoria (EM) – Dave Tailby
Bucklebury Lane (OO) – OMRC
Ridgemont (N) – Kempston MRC
Grandad’s Train Set ( Hornby Dublo 3 Rail) – Brian Woodcock

At the AGM, the Management Committee (David M, Malcolm and Chris) were re-elected en bloc and Malcolm was elected as a Honorary Life Member, recognising his contribution to the Club over the past 29 years.

Author: Malcolm Haynes – February 2026