Basingstoke & North Hants Model Railway Society celebrated a milestone moment with an opening ceremony featuring special guests.
On Sunday, September 1, the society held a grand opening for its new club house – a project that has been decades in the making.
After over 20 years of fundraising, planning permission was granted in March 2023 for the building of new facilities, adjacent to the current building in Stratton Park.
Construction began in September 2023, and on Sunday chairman Robin Gilchrist was joined by Basingstoke mayor Cllr Dan Putty, with a special guest Steve Flint, to officially unveil the new premises.
Robin said: "We've been very lucky to have a building that’s dedicated to the club, but we've survived in there without water, toilets and heating for the duration of that time and albeit I've only been a member for a short period of time, there are times when its been difficult – we've almost had to chip the ice off the inside of the building over the winter.
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"The big problem for us was funding. We never thought we were going to achieve this after 20 or 25 years of saving, so this is quite a momentous day for us."
The new building will provide more room for all of the club's models, as well as toilets, a kitchen and an entrance hall.
The project was funded through donations, and an annual exhibition.
Amongst current members, guests included former society members, chairman of the model railway in Basingstoke's twin town, Euskirchen, and Steve Flint, former editor of Railway Modeller magazine and judge on Channel 5's The Great Model Railway Challenge. In 2018, the society won heat three of the programme.
Steve said: “It’s a bit of an honour really, to be asked to help to celebrate the opening of the new club facilities and in my career as a model railway hobbyist, I have done about every job in the hobby so it’s just a bit of a culmination.
“I have always felt that railway modelling is a marvellous hobby that can help people when they’re feeling a bit down. In today's world, when we’re talking about people’s mental health, it’s a good hobby that gets you to be active. It’s good for the soul.”
There are over 60 people in Basingstoke & North Hants Model Railway Society, between the ages of nine and 83 years old, and it has been running since 1971.
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