Perth model railway exhibition draws strong interest ahead of June 2026 show

The Perth Model Railway Exhibition pulled more than 440 people into an online interest count before it opened at Claremont Showground, a strong sign that Perth’s biggest model railway weekend still had real pull. For layout builders, the draw was the mix of displays, specialist traders and rail heritage groups gathered under the Silver Jubilee Pavilion roof.

Held on the weekend of 20 and 21 June 2026, the exhibition ran from 9:30am to 4:30pm each day at the Silver Jubilee Pavilion at Claremont Showground in Claremont, Western Australia. The Royal Agricultural Society of WA described it as Perth’s largest Model Railway Exhibition, and the scale of the setting matched that claim. This was not a small club room meet-up but a public show built for sustained foot traffic, comparison shopping and long looks at how other people solve the same space, wiring and scenic problems that show up on home layouts.

Entry was listed at $20 for adults and $10 for children, with tickets booked through TryBooking. Ticket buyers also received one entry into the daily raffle. Destination Perth noted that the Showgrounds train station should be available, while on-site parking may have incurred a fee. For visitors coming in with an eye toward their own railroad, the logistics mattered as much as the displays: easy access, a full-day timetable and enough room for traders and clubs to spread out gave the event the feel of a proper working exhibition.

The show also sat inside a larger story of recovery and continuity. The West Australian Model Railway Club said the annual Perth Model Railway Exhibition returned to Claremont in 2023 for the first time since 2019, after three missed exhibitions during the COVID-19 pandemic. That history gave the 2026 edition added weight: it was part of a comeback that had already restored one of the state’s central meeting points for the hobby. WAMRC also listed AMRA WA contact details, including 9377 3456, for more information.

The trade and heritage mix has been a big part of the exhibition’s appeal. WAMRC’s 2024 coverage named Maylands Model Railways, Perth Hobby Centre, Hobbytech and Tinkering Tools among the familiar traders, while Rail Heritage WA, the Perth Electric Tram Society, Hotham Valley Railway and Bennett Brook Railway also took part. That blend of retail tables, preserved rail connections and working-model displays is exactly the sort of combination that sends a modeller home with ideas for operating scenes, stock purchases and layout refinements. At Claremont, the appeal was not just that the hobby showed up in force, but that it showed how to build better once the doors closed.