BISHOPTON Model Railway Club is searching for a new home after being told to leave their current premises.
The club’s 14 members have been given three months to remove their award-winning railway layouts from the village’s sports and social club.
Duncan Kerr, secretary of Bishopton Model Railway Club, said that the future of the club could be in jeopardy if a new location was not found soon.
“If we don’t have premises, we don’t have a club, it’s as simple as that,” he told The Gazette.
“We have been at Bishopton Sports and Social Club for around 12 years, which was ideal for us and it is a huge loss to be evicted from
there.
“We’ve been told that their gym area on the other side of the building has deteriorated during lockdown and is unsafe for use, so they are going to move the gym into our area.”
The Bishopton Model Railway Club was formed around 45 years ago within the Ordinance Factory in the village, which is no longer in existence, and aims to build and run layouts that entertain the public.
One of their layouts called Paisley Central contains small replicas of the town’s older buildings such as Paisley Abbey, while their Bridgewater railway layout showcased last year features a small model of Ingliston House in Bishopton.
They have won several awards in the past, including two from the Hornby Magazine Model Railway Awards for being the 'best of the best in show.'
Now the group are now looking for a dry, secure building to store their four large railway layouts and a smaller child-friendly layout called Thomas.
Duncan added: “The premises would need to be reasonably sized and free from damp, because dampness is a killer for model layouts.
“They wouldn’t need to be in Bishopton, but hopefully the premises would be a reasonably close distance to the village.
“Over the years we have been fortunate to be basically rent-free in the premises we have been in.
“We’re not necessarily looking for rent-free premises, but we would need to consider whatever costs could be involved within our budget.”
If you think you can help, contact Duncan on 0773 998 4797 or via email at m19dak@gmail.com.
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