WIMBORNE RAILWAY SOCIETY – see this panel for latest news and meeting information.
PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR SPEAKERS WHO PUT IN A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT FOR YOUR BENEFIT
On Thursday, 29th May, we will have a Club Night from 7.30pm. The following Thursday, 5th June, Mike Wescombe will be talking about “Three decades of railway interest – travels around the country from 1967 to 1998” starting at 7.45pm
See our EXHIBITIONS page for details of our “Railex” 2025.
On Tuesday, 10th June 2025 there will be a Golden Jubilee celebration evening and buffet at the Hamworthy Club on Magna Road. All current members will be invited to come along with a friend or partner for a buffet and a chance to reminisce over the meal and a drink. There will be a nominal price for the tickets with the Club making up the balance. We very much hope that some former members will be able to come along as our guests, alongside one or two others who have helped the Society over the years. This promises to be a very special evening so please do your best to be part of it. We have sold over 75 tickets already!!
Please watch for updates via email/Facebook or check the website.
The Society is now on Facebook – click here
Interested in joining us? See the Membership application form on the “Contact” button or click on the JOIN TODAY button at the bottom of this page
Wimborne Railway Society
Wimborne Railway Society meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 7.30pm at the United Reformed Church Hall, Chapel Lane, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 1PP. Tuesdays are our modelling evenings and on Thursdays we have a varied programme of slide, cine, and video shows interspersed with club nights where members can test their models on our test track, work on one of the layouts, read a book or magazine from our library, or have a chat with like minded individuals. The programme of meetings can be found by clicking on the “Meetings” tab.
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A Brief History of Wimborne Railway Society
The society was founded by Vera Hutchings in 1975, who arranged the first meetings at the R.A.F. Association hut, in Wimborne. When the club moved to a room at the Griffin Hotel, opposite Wimborne Station, we made a start on a ‘OO’ gauge model of the station before the last real trains ran in 1977. Layouts in ‘O’ and ‘N’ gauge followed (though not based on Wimborne). In June 1979 the first WRS exhibition was held, at Colehill, at the same time as the society was preparing to leave the Griffin, which was to be demolished.
The move to our current premises in Chapel Lane was made in August 1979, and the layouts rebuilt to suit the new arrangements. They had to be made portable, to be replaced in a storeroom after each meeting. The prophets of doom said that the club would not be the same without permanent layouts, and they were right – attendance at meetings increased by over 100%!
Since then, a format has evolved of Thursday nights for social chat, model running, and occasional guest speaker or other special event, with the new Tuesday nights for active modelling, maintenance, and occasional operating nights.
The success of the society can be judged from the levels of membership — over 70 full members — and the fact that many of our members can claim over 40 years unbroken membership.
We aim to please a broad spectrum of railfans and railway modellers, and with over 70 members, we must be doing something right!
Society Exhibitions
The Society has held its recent Open Days and Exhibitions (Wimborne “Railex”) at the Allendale Community Centre, Hanham Road, Wimborne BH21 1AS. In 2025 it will be over the weekend of 22nd and 23rd March. See you there.
