Welcome to the website of the Thamesiders Model Railroad Group, An NMRA British Region group.
The Thamesiders Model Railroad Group is a group within the Eastern Division of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) British Region. We are a small group of model railroaders, primarily from Essex, who met through the NMRA and decided to form a local group to further our knowledge and enjoyment of North American railroads , both full size and model. Our primary activity is currently the construction and operation of an HO scale modular layout. Modellers working in other scales are welcome to join us.

For further information please see the About Us page.
The Thamesiders MRG have been invited to show the Essex Belt Lines HO modular layout at the 2011 Chelmsford Model Railway Club exhibition to be best on the 22nd of October.
Submitted by Geoff

At the AGM it was agreed that the group would run a series of clinics, a large number of topics were considered and members votes selected the followingas the most interesting.

1) Decoder fitting and programming
2) Signalling
3) Operations
4) Weathering
5) Wireless control
6) Detailing locos and rolling stock
Submitted by Geoff

At the Thamesiders 2011 AGM Mike Arnold stood down as Chairman after over ten years in the post. Mike started the group with call to local NMRA members in 1999. Mike remains the editor of the group's newsletter the Ditchlight.

Geoff Smith-Gillard volunteered for the role of Chairman and was enthusiasticlly accepted into the role.

Also at the AGM it was agreed to expand the group activites to include N scale, we have been very successful with the HO scale modular effort but members we interested in working in other scales. A small team of interested members will be looking at the preferred way forward over the next few months.

In addition to the regualr running and construction sessions it wass felt that additional emphasis on the learning and knowledge sharing aspects of NMRA membership could be furthered with a series of clinic sessions. A larger number of topics were considered with a vote to be carried out by e-mail after the meeting.
Submitted by Geoff

UPDATE
The Warley show was very successful with two full days of largely touble free running. Expressions of interest were received from three eshibition managers, for exhibitions in 2012 and 2013.


The Thamesiders MRG have been invited to show the Essex Belt Lines, our HO scale modular railroad at the 2010 Warley MRC show. The show will be held at the National Exhibition Centre 20th and 21st of November 2010. The show will include a large selection of US outline layouts and traders in a special area to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NMRA. This year also marks the 65th anniversary of the British Region. This will be our largest setup so far incorporating a mixture of main and branch modules.
Submitted by Geoff