Stafford Model Railway Show brings miniature railways and vintage buses to Bingley Hall

From miniature railway layouts inside Bingley Hall to train rides in the grounds, the Stafford Model Railway Show brought different sides of the railway hobby together for its September weekend.

The exhibition gathered model train layouts and railway related traders under one roof at Staffordshire County Showground.

Vintage buses shuttled visitors from Stafford station, making the journey to the show part of its transport appeal. At the showground, larger scale train rides extended the railway experience beyond the exhibition hall.

Almost 60 years of exhibition experience

The Stafford show has almost six decades of experience behind it and is now described by its organisers as the largest independent model railway exhibition in the country.

For the 2026 event, it continued to use the main Bingley Hall, which organisers highlighted as offering more space and better facilities.

The exhibition combined layouts with traders catering for the hobby, alongside a broad programme of clubs and societies booked to attend.

Railway interests from across Staffordshire and beyond

The booked line up included Amerton Railway, the North Staffordshire Railway Company, Haywoods Permanent Way, and Stafford and District Model Engineering Society.

Specialist organisations on the list included the 009 Society, 2mm Road Show, 3mm Society, 7mm Narrow Gauge Association, Gauge O Guild, N Gauge Society Ltd. and Scalefour.

Mickleover Model Railway Club, Warley Model Railway Club and The Class 502 Preservation Trust were also among those booked, alongside Midlands Air Ambulance.

With model railways indoors, larger scale rides outside and vintage transport linking the venue with Stafford station, the weekend brought together railway interests spanning far more than the layouts themselves.