Gravesend Model Railway Exhibition

This will be held in the fully accessible venue of: Northfleet School for Girls, Northfleet, not far from Gravesend, Northfleet and Ebbsfleet stations, and just off the Northfleet turn-off from the A2. The full postal address is: Northfleet School for Girls, Hall Road, Northfleet, Kent DA11 8AQ

We are so proud of our exhibition that children accompanied by an adult will be able to join us for FREE. So that means, one adult can bring several children with them and only pay £5!

This year’s exhibition offers a greater variety of interesting layouts, railway societies and a selection of quality trade support. Close to the A2, Ebbsfleet station and Bluewater, our new venue has: Free on-site parking, wheelchair access and the usual friendly atmosphere. In addition we will have the following additional measures this year: wider aisles, one way systems and plenty of hand sanitiser available for our visitors.

Ebbsfleet railway station is only 17 minutes from Central London, 10 minutes from Stratford International – using the frequent high speed ‘Javelin’ service – and Gravesend railway station is 11 minutes from Dartford. Northfleet School for Girls (NSFG) is about 2-3 minutes’ drive from the Northfleet turn-off from the A2.

Bus route 481 serves Gravesend town centre, Ebbsfleet station and Bluewater shopping centre and stops near to the school on both days. Other regular bus services also stop nearby to Northfleet School for Girls.

 

As usual, we will offer a good number of visiting model railway layouts in various sizes with models of steam, diesel and electric trains – and not just British trains! This year there are:

 

• 15 different railway layouts: Including two of our own – (Windmill Hill) a Thomas themed layout that can be operated by children owned by the Gravesend Railway Enthusiasts’ Society (GRES) and (Gravesend West) based on the real second station in Gravesend, closed to passengers in 1953 and to freight in 1968; a large Gauge 1 layout; science-fiction related models plus several new layouts not seen before

 

• 10 different trade stands selling a range of items, including miniature people, pre-enjoyed trains and brand new railway items. We are also fortunate to have a children’s author of railway books join us at the exhibition where they would be happy to sign their books and do some readings.

 

• 5 stands from preservation societies – 4DD Double Deck Group, 4SUB Double Deck Group, Network South East/Southern Electric Group, Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway and The Class 315 Preservation Society; plus something completely different. Would you like to know what ‘A load of balls’ is…? Well, there’s only one way to find out!

 

So, plenty of fun to entertain the young and young at heart, as well as a chance to enjoy a selection of snacks plus hot and cold food and drinks. And to tempt you further, on Sunday there will be roast lunch available – turkey, gammon and vegetarian – with all the trimmings…