Nottingham model railway exhibition returns with 40 layouts in 2026

The Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre Model Railway Exhibition returned as a destination event for layout fans, with more than 10,000 square feet of displays, over forty exhibitors and twenty British, Continental and American layouts across all gauges and eras. The draw was bigger than a standard club show: miniature railways, traders, demonstrations and full-size heritage rail action all shared the same Ruddington site.

The show ran on Saturday 16 May and Sunday 17 May 2026 at the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre, Mere Way, Ruddington, NG11 6JS. Opening hours were 10:00 to 17:00 on Saturday and 10:00 to 16:00 on Sunday. Adult admission was £8, children aged 5 to 16 were £2, under-4s were free and parking was £3 per vehicle, with overflow parking planned nearby. The centre sits on a 25-acre site, and Great Central Railway Nottingham says its preserved railway runs eight miles from Ruddington to Loughborough, with plans for an eighteen-mile route.

The layout line-up gave the exhibition real breadth. Scales included N, OO, O, HO, EM, 009 and TT, with scenic and narrow-gauge work mixed through the hall. Among the confirmed layouts were Barnwood, Bellswood End, Black Diamonds, Chalk Pit, Daybrook Sidings, Denting Sidings, Dreileben, Corporation Road, Corsham, Empire Yard, Freshwater, Kirkby-In-Ashfield, Middleton, Manthorpe Sands, Rocky Rail Road, Skye Lane, Southgate Park, Sowerby Station, The Vale - Rolleston and Zlater Vychod. That spread made the show especially strong for anyone looking to compare building styles, eras and operating ideas in one place.

Trade support was equally solid, with names including Anoraks Anonymous, Bugskelly Station, Bomber County Models, Booklaw, CM3 Models, Fenland Models, LMS Patriot Company, Nottingham Model Railway Society Club Sales, Sherwood Models, Skog Carriage and Wagon Works, Three Legged Shrew Trainsporters, TTC Diecast Demo’s, Accurascale Colwick Park and DEMU Tony Wright’s Loco Clinic. The broader heritage setting added more to do beyond the exhibition hall, including an on-site garden railway run by the Nottingham Society of Model and Experimental Engineers, a heritage café, bus displays from the Nottingham Area Bus Society and open club rooms from the Ruddington Model Railway Society.

The headline attractions on the full-size line pushed the weekend well beyond the usual model show formula. Flying Scotsman was on site for cab visits with separate fees, and Great Central Railway Nottingham said the locomotive was returning to the Midlands for the first time in 25 years. Tornado also operated return steam journeys of about 20 miles between Ruddington Fields and Loughborough via Rushcliffe Halt, using the Midland Main Line connection and spotlighting the railway’s servicing facilities and Reunification project. With miniature railways in every major scale and two famous Pacifics on the adjacent line, Nottingham gave visitors a show that justified the trip from the opening minute to the last whistle.