The Leicester Society of Model Engineers Ltd (1909 - 2002)

 The Society was originally formed as the Leicester & District Society of Model Engineers following a meeting of eleven gentlemen on Friday, 22nd of October 1909 at the Rutland Coffee House, Leicester.

In December 1910 its name was changed to The Leicester Society of Model & Experimental Engineers. Meetings and lectures continued until 1915 when regular events lapsed although members kept in touch. The Society started again, officially, in 1925 and several exhibitions were staged in and around Leicester in the following years.

In 1950/51 the Society negotiated with the Leicester City Council to rent a plot of land in the Abbey Park on which to put the Society’s railway track and this was officially opened or public running on 23rd June 1951. This raised-level track on concrete arches catered for 1¹/₄“, 2½”.  3½ “ and 5” gauges. Up to the present time this track has been rebuilt three times and officially opened twice. The first time by the Late Lord John Gretton.

It was in 1969 that the Society decided to become a Limited Company under the Industrial & Provident Societies Act 1965 in order to protect its members and the present title was adopted.

The Society played a major part in organising and running the 1st Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition in October 1978 at the Granby Halls and also the second in 1979. It was only due to the Leicester City Councils decision not to use the Granby Halls for exhibitions that forced a move, initially to Bingley Hall, and eventually to the Stoneleigh Showground.

In 1976 the Society joined the Northern Association of Model Engineers which consists of 60 Model Engineering Societies, Leicester being number 20. In 1982 Leicester, being the host member for a three year period, organised the 18th Northern Model Engineering Exhibition at Welford House when models of all types from all over the country were entered to compete for the 13 Northern Association Cups.

At this time it was decided to add a 7¼" and 5” gauge ground level track to that already at Abbey Park.  This plan also included for a Station building cum clubhouse based on the Midland Railway building at Irchester.  This project took some five years to complete and was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Guy Collis in August 1989.

In 1990 the Society hosted the Curly Bowl competition.

The Railway runs for public rides every Saturday and Sunday afternoon (2pm to 5pm) from April to October, weather permitting. Building, maintenance and repairs are also carried out on Saturday afternoons throughout the year .

Society meetings are held on the first and third Mondays of each month, October to April at 7.30 pm in the Regency Sports & Social Club,  102 Regent Road Leicester. Summer meetings are held every Monday evening at the Park track.

Visitors are welcome both at the track and at the Monday meetings where topics continue to be wide ranging from engineering to photography, ships to clocks, air­brush painting, welding, metal beating, travel, canals and locks, the Mary Rose Trust, Leicester’s water supply, industrial archaeology and so on. These are announced on Radio Leicester and in the Information Bureau as well as in the Society’s newsletter “The Buffer Stop”.