Tiny steam trains wow the crowds at Keighley model railway exhibition

The modellers from Cardiff showed off a display which boasted miniature locomotives powered with real steam.

Clubs from across the north of England, including Blackpool, Harrogate, Bradford and Stockport, also displayed their layouts.

The Blackpool club won the public vote for best layout.

Keighley club spokesman Steve Ward said: “The club has grown from humble beginnings in the upstairs room at the Globe pub on Parkwood Street to having one of the largest clubrooms in the country."

The club hosts several open days each year at its base on the top floor of Keighley Business Centre, Knowle Mill, South Street, but the focal point is the Victoria Hall exhibition.

The Keighley club chairman Charles Oldroyd took along some of his collection of Hornby Dublo from the 1930s and 1940s.

Mr Ward said: “This fascinated both young and old alike as the tinplate trains rattled along on the three-rail track.

“The other offering from Keighley, Dudley Moor, was awarded the trophy for the best layout in a vote by the other layout owners at the exhibition.

“Despite being completely fictitious the layout captures the atmosphere of a Bradford scene so well that people are convinced that they've actually been there.”

The Dudley Moor layout, which recently featured on the cover of Railway Modeller, was sold to an enthusiast in Scotland.

This means that a new layout is now being built at the clubrooms, bringing the number under construction to seven. Anyone is welcome to join the club to help build the layouts.

The exhibition also included displays by Keighley and Bradford’s model engineering societies, the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, Keighley Plastic Modelling Club and UK TrainSim.

Members of the Keighley and Kendal model railway clubs provided model-making demonstrations.

Keighley Model Railway Club will host an open day at its clubrooms on April 24, from10am to 4.30pm. Admission will be £3.50 for adults and £2.50 for children.