IT’S SMALL and it’s perfectly formed. And when it’s finished, it will form part of an amazing diorama recreating the glory days of Wokingham’s railway station.
For much of the past year, David Wright has been creating a 12cm wide by 6cm high recreation of the famous footbridge over the railway lines as part of the Berkshire Area Group of the N Gauge society’s latest project to recreate Wokingham Station as it was in the 1950s.
Originally built in 1886 by the South Eastern Railway, Wokingham’s landmark Grade II listed footbridge near the station was built using old rails and wooden sleepers.
The iconic structure has stood the test of time and is believed to be the only one of its type left in the country.
When the society’s diorama is completed, it will be 16ft by 3ft and showcase what Wokingham town looked like before the demolition of the original railway station in 1973.
Working with The Wokingham Society, the group have identified 20 buildings and features from the old townscape that they intend to recreate.
And the ensure that the plans are as accurate as possible, the group have searched for pictorial references of Wokingham town centre as it was 50 years ago, including The Terrace, the old town hall and, of course, the train station.
By focusing on the post-war period, it means that members of the group can create a layout that can be used by steam, electric and diesel model trains.
To help make the footbridge, Mr Wright, a long-time Wokingham resident, has painstakingly photographed and measured the real thing, then made mock-ups of intermediate sizes, before arriving at the required scale of 2mm equal to 1 foot (1:148).
This wonderful model duly won the Berkshire Area N Gauge Group’s Chairman’s Challenge award and his efforts will soon go on show.
The club will hold its annual Open Day on Saturday, April 7 at Sindlesham Baptist Church Hall.
A spokesperson for the group invited people to come along to the family-friendly show and see various model railways, interesting trade stalls and check progress on the Wokingham layout.
They added: “BAGladdies are best known in local model rail circles for their module system where members build a mini-layout 4ft long.
These are then connected together to make diverse and interesting maxi-layouts of varying sizes which prove popular with exhibition organisers and the wider viewing public.”
The exhibition is open from 10am to 4pm and entry is £4, with accompanied children under 12 free.
For more details, visit www.bagladdies.weebly.com
