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Going loco for model trains: Warley club's open day is busiest yet

Model railway enthusiasts young and old turned out in force to make a Black Country group's spring open day the most popular in its history.

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Trains of all shapes and sizes were on display at the Warley Model Railway Club in Oldbury.

Visitors included some of the most ardent enthusiasts as well as children who only had eyes for Thomas the Tank Engine and friends.

There were 15 model layouts on display in total. Tracks were laid down across the club's 627 sq m headquarters in Pearsall Drive, Oldbury, as model trains zoomed past. Around 250 people attended the event yesterday, making it the busiest open day ever.

Publicity officer Dave Moorhouse said: "There was something to enjoy for everyone. We had visitors from four years old to 90 years old. There were serious collectors and mums and dads taking their kids to see Thomas the Tank Engine."

More than 17,000 people are expected to attend the club's showpiece event, the Warley National Model Railway Exhibition at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre in November.

The club is approaching its 50th anniversary, having opened in 1967.

"It seems to be an expanding hobby," Mr Moorhouse said. "It is doing well, it seems to be getting more and more popular and I think we will continue to get more people attending events like this."

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