Portsmouth Model Railway Exhibition — South Hants Model Railway Club

The Portsmouth Model Railway Exhibition is hosted once a year, in the autumn, by the South Hants Model Railway Club. The club describes it as the longest running model railway show in the area and says it is rapidly gaining a national reputation as an exhibition that shows the very best of the hobby.

Each exhibition has a carefully chosen selection of top-class model railway layouts and demonstrators, supported every year by a loyal band of traders and gauge societies. The club publishes retrospective pages on the layouts shown at past exhibitions.

The venue is Admiral Lord Nelson School on Dundas Lane, Portsmouth, opposite the Ocean Park shopping complex. The school catering department provides refreshments, with a snack bar close to the hall and food outlets over the road. The club notes that some exhibits are quite high and lends stools and periscopes to small children against a refundable deposit.

A selection of model railway layouts and demonstrators, with traders and gauge societies, in a school hall with level access. Refreshments are on sale, and stools and periscopes can be borrowed for small children.

Admiral Lord Nelson School, Dundas Lane, Portsmouth PO3 5XT, opposite Ocean Park. Free parking at the school, with designated disabled parking close to the hall; access to the school and to the exhibition is level. Hilsea station is about a 15-minute walk, and the club lists Firstbus route 2 and Stagecoach routes 21 and 19 (check timetables before travelling). In its latest listing the club offered a free vintage bus between Hilsea station and the exhibition. The club charges a standard adult admission with no concessions, and accompanied children aged 16 and under are admitted free.