Chatham Show 2025

David Holman · 2025-07-18T20:44:44Z

Thought I'd give an overview of our Exhibition, now back in the Historic Dockyard for a second year. The Chatham & District Model Railway Club has had premises here since about 1990, though it goes back to just after WW2.

The Historic Dockyard Museum celebrates the history of the Dockyard, which includes, among other things, the building of sailing ships going back to Tudor times, not least HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at Trafalger. More recently, iron and steel ships were built, including submarines. The site is huge, with many important buildings, which now house other national collections.

Our Show takes place in the Number 5 Covered Slip, once used for shio building. but now a vast, barn like structure. A similar slip next door houses a lifeboat exhibition.

Opposite is what is known as the 'pea shingle', a large square, where we once held a show in a marquee. The was the year Adavoyle visited & was lucky to escape when the roof leaked! Note the range of historic buildings in the background.

Next come three open docks. The first holds HMS Gannet, a Victorian 'iron clad', while the second is home to HMS Ocelot, a post WW2 attack submarine. Finally comes the destroyer HMS Gannet, built at the end of WW2 and, at the time, one of the fastest ships in the Fleet. All three are open to visitors.

More fine buildings lead you past the helipad, next to which is a loco shed.

Inside the loco shed at the moment are an early diesel shunter and Marcia, which is owned by Andrew Hardy, proprietor of Rapido Models. Marcia has only recently moved here, but is used regularly, including this weekend, offering 'Driver for a Tenner' runs. All proceeds go to the Dockyard.

The almost rural scene below is where a number of preserved wagons are stored, along with a couple of working steam steam cranes too.

After that comes Anchor Wharf and the Ropery, a run of Georgian buildings over 500 metres long. The Ropery still makes specialist ropes, while the space between the two buildings is regularly used for filming scenes for the 'Call the Midwife' TV series. Indeed many feature films have had sequences shot here. The Model club has premises in a 16 metre square cellar here too.

Among other buildings is the old fire station, while the tramway tracks wander all over the site, some of which are still in use for public displays. Indeed, some of our club members are qualified steam and diesel loco drivers for the Dockyard.

Heading back to the exhibition hall, we pass the original No1 Covered Slip - a fabulous timber framed building, home to a mezzanine exhibition space and an eclectic collection of dockyard stuff below.

Back outside our exhibition hall is this Fife Coal wagon, which the club are helping to sponsor its repairs. 4mm scale models have been commissioned are are on sale at the show.

Inside the hall here are are a few pictures showing exhibitors setting up this afternoon. Layouts include James Street [N gauge in this month's Modeller] and a 20 metre long Gauge 3 [1:22]. Around 40 layouts in all and a total of over 100 stands. Entry to the show gets you a half price ticket to the rest of the Dockyard and if you can't make it this year, plans are already well advanced for 2026.