Soham Museum Events
Venue: Soham Town Rangers Football Club, Julius Martin Lane, Soham, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5EQ
Soham Station and Ely Station Model Railway Layouts
Neely is a representation of Ely station (with Soham branch) set in the summer of 2013
Dimensions: 14’3” x 4’8”
Scale: 1:148 (N gauge)
Built by: Terry Metcalfe
Operated by: Friends and colleagues
I started building Neely in 2013 so the track plan and train movements are based on those at Ely in the summer of 2013. It was my first layout so it took me a long time. It has been featured in the Railway Modeller and British Railway Modelling magazines and has been exhibited extensively locally. The name - my wife reckoned the layout was Nearly Ely - hence Neely.
The layout is built on nine lightweight baseboards and just fits in my spare bedroom. Each of the baseboards can be carried by one person and the whole layout packs away, and is transported, in the back of my Honda Jazz. The station building is a hand built scale replica of the real thing including the CCTV cameras. The Thurlow Nunn Standen buildings are built using photographs but reduced in size to fit the available space. I even modelled the van stuck under the underpass, and a Turners lorry is often stopped at the level crossing. The backscene was made up of several photographs “stitched” together using Photoshop. See if you can pick out The Old Hall at Stuntney (twice!!).
Most of the trains are out of the box, commercial products but they have been modified by me. There are also two 3D printed models of the class 365 Electric Multiple Units which I painted and lined all by myself having taught myself the art of airbrushing and the use of a bow pen.
This layout uses a Digital Command Control (DCC) system to control it. This is similar to radio control but the instructions are sent along the rails to a miniature decoder inside the train. The decoder interprets these instructions to speed up and slow down the electric motor inside the trains. The advantage of this system is that you can run several trains at the same time.
One of the joys of railway modelling is that Neely will never be finished as I can always find little things to do to make it “better”. However, I am planning to build a model of Soham station set in WW2 with WD 7337 on show and am hopeful that there will be something to show at this special anniversary of the Soham Rail Disaster.
I very grateful to my friends and colleagues from the Ely and District Model Railway Club (which meets in Soham) for their help in operating and setting up this layout. Please come and say hello and ask questions – it would be really interesting to hear your stories.
Terry Metcalfe
Dimensions: 14’3” x 4’8”
Scale: 1:148 (N gauge)
Built by: Terry Metcalfe
Operated by: Friends and colleagues
I started building Neely in 2013 so the track plan and train movements are based on those at Ely in the summer of 2013. It was my first layout so it took me a long time. It has been featured in the Railway Modeller and British Railway Modelling magazines and has been exhibited extensively locally. The name - my wife reckoned the layout was Nearly Ely - hence Neely.
The layout is built on nine lightweight baseboards and just fits in my spare bedroom. Each of the baseboards can be carried by one person and the whole layout packs away, and is transported, in the back of my Honda Jazz. The station building is a hand built scale replica of the real thing including the CCTV cameras. The Thurlow Nunn Standen buildings are built using photographs but reduced in size to fit the available space. I even modelled the van stuck under the underpass, and a Turners lorry is often stopped at the level crossing. The backscene was made up of several photographs “stitched” together using Photoshop. See if you can pick out The Old Hall at Stuntney (twice!!).
Most of the trains are out of the box, commercial products but they have been modified by me. There are also two 3D printed models of the class 365 Electric Multiple Units which I painted and lined all by myself having taught myself the art of airbrushing and the use of a bow pen.
This layout uses a Digital Command Control (DCC) system to control it. This is similar to radio control but the instructions are sent along the rails to a miniature decoder inside the train. The decoder interprets these instructions to speed up and slow down the electric motor inside the trains. The advantage of this system is that you can run several trains at the same time.
One of the joys of railway modelling is that Neely will never be finished as I can always find little things to do to make it “better”. However, I am planning to build a model of Soham station set in WW2 with WD 7337 on show and am hopeful that there will be something to show at this special anniversary of the Soham Rail Disaster.
I very grateful to my friends and colleagues from the Ely and District Model Railway Club (which meets in Soham) for their help in operating and setting up this layout. Please come and say hello and ask questions – it would be really interesting to hear your stories.
Terry Metcalfe
Ramsey Station Model Railway Layout
Built by Ely and District Model Railway Club, Ramsey Station is very similar to the former Soham Station destroyed in the explosion on 2nd June 1944. The whole set measures 16ft x 10ft and it is hoped will be demonstrating wartime running stock at the commemoration event.
Steve Williams
Steve Williams
Please note there may be changes and additions to displays and content as plans evolve on the lead up to this very special event for Soham. We would love to see as many relatives of the families involved in the Soham Rail Disaster on the day as possible. Please e-mail ahead of time or make yourselves known to us at the event. Talk times will not change. We now know we will have a WD3773 model on display and will keep you updated with any other changes. Please note that the Town Remembrance Ceremony, to be hosted by our Vicar Eleanor Whalley, will begin promptly at 1.30pm Red Lion Square, Soham.
