Teen Luca wins top prize at Paisley Model Railway Show

More than a 1000 visitors came along to view the amazing works on display at Renfrewshire Model Railway Club's (RMRC) popular event on December 7 and 8.

Luca with his layout (Image: Newsquest) Fifteen-year-old Luca Jaconelli with his oo-gauge micro layout Dumbarton TMD (traction maintenance depot) was crowned Winner of the Best in Show award as voted for by all the layout exhibitors.

Luca with a class 37 locomotive (Image: Newsquest) The success of Luca, who is from Dumbarton and a member of Helensburgh and District Model Railway Club, is even more impressive because he only started building his layout in February this year.

Luca with his layout (Image: Newsquest) Mark Davies, the club's chairman and exhibition manager for the Paisley Model Railway Show, told the Gazette: “Luca’s parents were bringing him along to the shows and he really enjoyed them, so he joined his local model railway club in Helensburgh.

“He spoke to me at one of the shows and said he’d built himself a wee layout, so I invited him along to bring it to our show."

Luca and Mark (Image: Sourced) “Luca's layout is built to a good standard and he’s basically self-taught," added Mark.

“He embodies what the youth of the hobby is.

"Someone who got involved and built something and is proud of it.

“He has so much enthusiasm for the hobby, it’s fantastic. It’s infectious actually."

The Almond Bridge Layout created by members of the Perth Model Railway Group (Image: Newsquest) The event took place at the Paisley Centre on Causeyside Street and featured traders and 37 model railway displays by groups and individuals from around the UK.

There were a wide variety of different layouts on show, everything from n-gauge through to o-gauge and a few gauges in between.

The gauge refers to the distance between individual rails, which determines the width of the track.

Thomas Elliott, 7, looking at a class 37 locomotive hauling IrnBru wagons on the Almond Bridge layout created by members of Perth Model Railway Group (Image: Newsquest) The winner of the big prize, the Renfrewshire Quaich for overall Best in Show, as voted for by trader Rainbow Railways, was Wellpark by SDEG (Scottish Diesel and Electric Group).

SDEG Winner of the Renfrewshire Quaich for overall Best in Show (Image: Sourced) The winner of the Rootes Trophy, named after the car plant where the club came from, was Brian Thompson of Greenock and District Model Railway Club.

The Kilbowie layout by Brian Thompson of Greenock and District Model Railway Club (Image: Newsquest) His oo-gauge layout depicted Kilbowie train station in Clydebank in the 1960s.

Brian Thompson, second from left, with Kilbowie (Image: Newsquest) This prize was voted for by members of RMRC and Durham Trains of Stanley.

Brian Thompson, second from left, with his OO gauge Kilbowie layout (Image: Newsquest) “Thank you to everyone who came along,” added Mark.

“It was a great weekend and everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves."

Alan Gray, left with Peter Grant. Both are members of Birtley Model Railway Engineers and are pictured with their fictional layout is based on Newcastle quayside from the 1930s (Image: Newsquest) Alan Gray from Gateshead with his St George's Fish Quay layout (Image: Newsquest) The club, which has been based in Elderslie since the start of the 1980s, has nearly 50 members, who range in age from teenagers to pensioners.

Memories of Strathclyde Transport (Image: Newsquest) Mark, now in his forties, knows well the life-long joy the hobby can bring.

He used to go to the model railway shows in Paisley with his parents as a child and joined the club as soon as he was old enough to do.

He has been attending ever since.

Mark and Brian (Image: Sourced) Having seen the club grow and its show remain a much-loved feature of the Renfrewshire calendar over the years, he is now looking ahead to even more exciting times for its members.

Indeed, next year it will host a new and even bigger show called The Scottish Festival of Railway Modelling at Braehead Arena on June 14 and 15.

“It will be a good family day out and we should have around 40 to 45 layouts and 25 different trade stands and demonstrators,” said Mark.

The club is always on the lookout for new people keen to get involved.

Anyone who is interested in learning about the hobby can come along on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday night to the club.

“We are based in Elderslie, just behind the village hall,” explained Mark.

“You can learn how to build different things, get involved with learning how to build some of the club layouts and come in and run the trains.

“We have the skillset for people who are just learning for the first time, building their first trainset right the way through to people who have been doing it for 50 years or more.”