On the weekend 19th and 20th July we will host two very special model layouts; 'Wheal Elizabeth' created by Andrew Ullyott and Iain Rice's 'Trerice'. These will support an exhibition on the evolution of china clay transport via rail, including a selection of 4mm scale models kindly lent from a range of sources that help tell the story of rail-born china clay transport from the 1930s (the Pendon Period) up to the 21st Century. There will be no additional cost for the exhibition and there is no need to book in advance.

Introduction: Wheal Elizabeth

Andrew Ullyott's 'Wheal Elizabeth' represents a China Clay dries and associated sidings set in Cornwall 1970s/80s. Inspired by the china clay dries at Wenfordbridge and Carbis Wharf (the last coal fired dry which closed in 1986) the layout includes various types of rolling stock typically seen on clay trains from the end of steam through to the mid-1980s.

Introduction: Trerice

Iain Rice's 'Trerice' depicts a typical set of Cornish ‘pan’ china clay dries and their associated railway facilities from around 1960. The entire model is largely built from scratch; the buildings (entirely scratch-built) represent real structures in the Goss Moor area of Cornwall, and the railway is based on the Wenford Bridge branch near Bodmin. Two locomotives run on the track: an ex-L&SWR Beattie 2-4-owT and GWR ‘1366’ class dock tanks. Incorporated in the model are fragments of genuine Delabole slate waste and real china-clay!