Love little trains? We visited the oldest model railway club in the world — check out the video.

Thousands of miniature trains pull up at Alexandra Palace this March, for the London Festival of Railway Modelling.
Now in its 26th year, the massive celebration of diddy trains will fill out the north London venue's Great Hall, with over 35 working train track layouts based on regions in the UK, and further afield.
Around 10,000 people are expected to show up over the weekend of 15-16 March 2025, so let's pray the life-sized trains are running OK.

Altogether, over 70 traders and societies, plus retailers and manufacturers, will be on hand for tips and demonstrations. But the layouts are the real draw; among those on show this year are the famous Copenhagen Fields, which reimagines an inter-war London just north of King's Cross, and has been 30 years in the making. Dawn Quest's remarkable monochrome recreation of the setting of David Lean's black and white film Brief Encounter should also prove popular. See a full list of 2025's layouts on the World of Railways website.
Despite the show being attended by the kind of people who know what a Tenshodo Coreless motor bogie is, don't be put off if all this is new to you. If you're dipping your toes into a potential new attic hobby, or just want to feel like a giant while watching replica Mallards zoom underneath your nose, this is a welcoming space. In short: all aboard!
London Festival of Railway Modelling, Alexandra Palace, 15-16 March 2025.