On the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, 9 and 10 September, STEAM Museum at Swindon will once again be holding its Swindon Railway Festival.

Among the exhibits this year there will be 23 model railway layouts that will be displayed among Swindon-built locomotives. Three layouts will make their debut at the festival including a new creation by Peter Boyce entitled Farringdon.

On both days, visitors will experience smoky smells and evocative sounds from the front of the museum as Swindon company Hatch Heritage & Steam Engineers display a selection of its vintage traction engines.

Nostalgia will be awakened when live steam powers the museum’s replica of Swindon Works Hooter, which was sounded every day until the Works closed in March 1986. The hooter will sound every hour on the hour to bring back this ‘sound of Swindon’. STEAM is also hosting a new exhibition entitled Great Women’s Railway that explores the contribution that women made to Swindon Works and the Great Western Railway.

On Saturday, many of the museum’s ex-Great Western Railway full-size locomotives will welcome visitors onto their footplates including Castle Class No 4073 Caerphilly Castle, City Class No. 3440 City of Truro, and King Class No. 6000 King George V, which is currently on loan from the National Railway Museum

More attractions include demonstrations of modelling, and specialist modellers will offer tips and advice on loco and wagon building, and weathering techniques. There will also be trade stands selling model railway locomotives, kits and accessories, tools, and railway books and gifts.

A number of local and national preserved heritage railway organisations will have displays at the event, and for children there are interactive model railways, activity trails, and thought-provoking activities inside the museum.

The museum’s Platform One Café and outdoor enclosure will be available for refreshments, hot meals, snacks, and real ale.

Admission is adults £14.50 for adults, children £9.70 , students and seniors £11, children under threes go free, and family tickets are available. STEAM Season Ticket holders receive a 10 per cent reduction.

The exhibition is open from 10 am to 5 pm, and visitors are encouraged to book in advance through STEAM’s website www.steam-museum.org.uk

Updates on the exhibition will be posted on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @SteamMuseum.

Sally Langheim, STEAM’s Events and Conferencing Officer, said: “This is the 21st Swindon Railway Festival we’ve held and it is one of STEAM’s biggest annual events. It’s a celebration of the Great Western Railway and features some of the UK’s finest model railway layouts.

“The layouts are built by some of the UK’s most experienced and expert model railway creators and three are brand new to the model railway circuit. One highlight I am particularly looking forward to seeing is the magnificent 3mm layout entitled ‘Foxbury’ by acclaimed modeller Bob Brown of an imagined market town in the Cotswolds portraying its branch line c1955.

“STEAM will also be selling its brand-new 00 gauge Western Enterprise D1000 model locomotive at the festival. Exclusive to STEAM, only 500 limited edition models will be available to purchase.”

Councillor Marina Strinkovsky, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Art and Heritage, said: “If you are interested in trains and our town’s rich railway heritage, then the Swindon Railway Festival is definitely the event for you. The incredible model rail layouts at the Swindon Railway Festival will transport you back in time and the level of detail is fantastic giving an engaging glimpse of life in the past, of the trains as well as the surrounding areas.

“We will even have the Swindon hooter going off over the weekend to add a flavour of the rhythms of life in the Works. A huge amount of hard work by the exhibitors went into these model displays, so it’s not surprising that the railway festival is one of STEAM’s most popular events.”