7mm Narrow Gauge Association exhibition returns to Burton-upon-Trent in 2026

Burton Town Hall turned into a rare meeting point for serious 7mm narrow gauge work, with the 7mm Narrow Gauge Association packing its 2026 exhibition and AGM into one day of layouts, traders and practical problem-solving. For modelers who care about finescale fidelity, the draw was not just the number of stands but the concentration of narrow-gauge thinking under one roof.

The show ran on Saturday 13 June 2026 at Burton-upon-Trent Town Hall, King Edward Place, Burton-upon-Trent, DE14 2EB, from 10:30am to 4:30pm. Admission was set at £14 for adults, £19 for a family ticket, and accompanied under-16s entered free, while association members received discounted entry on production of a current membership card. The AGM began at 2:00pm, giving the day a club-and-community edge that pushed it beyond a standard public exhibition.

The confirmed line-up in the association’s show guide was aimed squarely at specialist builders. Layouts included Afon Adit, Bunny Mine & Mill, Dobbins Adit, El Passo - Black Diamond Modular, Esgairgeiliog, Glendale, Gorsaf, Johannesdorf, Kalimpong, Lostanbodge, Low Tide, Megantic, Queens Wharf and St Oswalds. Traders included 422 Modelmaking, GL Railways, GM Transport Books, Iconic Rail, LCut Locos n Stuff and Northumbrian Painting Services, with society stands from the Corris Railway, Gauge O Guild and Slim Gauge Circle. Kevin Harlow, Paul Martin and David Wright were listed as demonstrators, while the association’s own Modelling Goods, Publications and Second-hand sales stands were also present.

That mix made the exhibition especially useful for anyone trying to solve the usual 7mm narrow-gauge headaches: how to capture the look of a prototype without losing operational reliability, where to source specialist parts, and how different groups interpret standards. The association says many members work at 16.5mm gauge, while others scratch-build at 14mm for 2ft gauge or 21mm for 3ft gauge, and interest also extends to O-16.5, O-14, O-9 and On30. That breadth matters because it turns a single show into a live comparison of methods, from commercial support to handbuilt track and stock.

The second-hand sales carried extra appeal, with stock shipped over from Northern Ireland and members invited to bring surplus items for valuation and testing. That practical, hands-on feel matched the association’s wider message: it was founded in 1979, now has members in the UK, Continental Europe, North America and Australasia, and still encourages questions at exhibitions about 7mm narrow-gauge prototypes. With Don Mason, its founder and Member No. 1, having died on 27 February 2026, the day also carried a sense of continuity, and Burton-upon-Trent once again gave the specialist end of the hobby a public stage.