About Us
Photo supplied courtesy of Paul Phillips
Brambleton Model Railway Club is a long-established organisation, home to one of the largest outdoor model railways in the country. We have two extensive and distinctive layouts - an O gauge railway (7mm/ft scale) and an SM32 narrow gauge line (16mm/ft scale), all running through a woodland setting.
Our O gauge layout was the first to be constructed and features a double-track circuit incorporating nine stations and a spur leading to a large terminus. The whole layout comprises a total of over a quarter mile of track.
More recent developments have focused on our SM32 line, enabling the operation of 16mm/ft scale, live steam narrow gauge trains. This incorporates many different route possibilities with several bridges and tunnels to negotiate. Three waist height steam-up areas are provided, two of which are covered.
We like to think of ourselves as an easy going approachable club that tries not to take our hobby too seriously. We aim to provide an enjoyable and welcoming venue for members and guests where they can operate their trains on a layout that passes through an exciting, intriguing and challenging outdoor model railway landscape.
The club's origins date back to 1947 when it began as an informal boy's club. In January 1956, Brambleton Model Railway Club was formally established with the aim of providing a youth-focused organisation for young people in the Harpenden area with an interest in model railways. After two early forced moves from bases in Roundwood Park and Wood End, the club settled at its current site in 1961, adjacent to Highfield Oval in Ambrose Lane, Harpenden.
Brambleton is not just about running trains. Just like the real thing, our railway requires constant maintenance so we have to put our hand to tasks not usually associated with model railway clubs. Brick laying, grass cutting, tree surgery, fencing, weeding and leaf clearing to name a few.
We always welcome new members and you don't necessarily have to be interested in railways, so if you would like plenty of fresh air and belong to a model railway club with a difference, why not give us a try. We don’t have a formal membership process and there’s no joining fee, but we do encourage members to join the Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers allowing them to run live steam engines on our railway and join in with local group activities.