Westland and Yeovil District Model Engineering Society.

We are a group of Model Engineers from Yeovil and the surrounding area and are based at the Westland Leisure Centre, Yeovil. We have a large site with a 1200 ft circuit railway track with 2.5, 3.5 and 5-inch gauge rails on a raised wall, together with an O gauge SM32 'garden railway' Like many other Model Engineering clubs our activities tend to be centred around the track, but we also have interests in traction engines, stationary engines etc. Mostly, though, we make and run coal fired model steam engines of an assortment of types and scales. For those members still working on their first project there’s a Club locomotive which all our members may steam. 

Meetings are held at the track throughout the year, with indoors meetings; guest speakers etc during winter months. During the summer members also give model steam train rides on a short section of track during South West Main Line Steam Trust events at Yeovil Junction station.

In August 2012 we completed the upgrade to our track, having replaced the old wooden sleepers with new wood polymer composite sleepers and all of the rails with a deeper 10 x 20 mm section steel rail. Our track is now undoubtedly one of the hidden gems of the Model Engineering world. On enclosed and secure land, it is a 1240 ft circuit railway track with 2.5, 3.5 and 5-inch gauge rails on a raised wall. We have the usual steaming-up bays, power and water, two store sheds with some workshop facilities, a clubhouse, and plenty of all-weather car parking. Around this fine site are a mixture of grass, shrubs, trees, and some nearly impenetrable jungle.

The garden railway has now been in use for three years. The layout is built of plywood on block or timber pillars, except through the cutting where ballast stabilised with cement has been used, and has a nominal minimum radius of 4ft 6inches. Just over thirty yards of Peco SM32 track have been used, plus points, to give two loops. The gradient is nominally level. Extra steaming bays were added last year. The track gives smooth running and trains may be pulled or pushed around the entire circuit without any problems with derailment or buffer lock. The rock garden is maturing and the whole thing looks rather nice.