THE Launceston Railway Circle held its first outdoor meeting on Wednesday, May 11, when 18 members and friends went to Pecorama in the village of Beer at the heart of Lyme Bay.

With a warm welcome at the shop the group then sheltered from the rain and had their morning coffee in the restaurant.

They then proceeded through the gardens down to the Model Railway Exhibition Display Room where numerous items and working railway layouts of different gauges were running — showing, in great detail, many of the products made for the model railways of today, be it a ‘station-to-station loop’ or a ‘landscape scene’ such as a quarry or hillside with a range of tunnels and bridges.

Some members took control of the small garden railway layout, outside the window, topping as required at the stations with two locomotives running around the track layout.

They then proceeded to the Golden Arrow Pullman Carriage ‘Orion’ for lunch, with as near to the Orient Express surrounding décor and waitress service as is available in a Devon Village.

They also took a look around the ‘Peco’ factory, which employs around 130 staff and was celebrating its 70th year of railway products.

Splitting into two groups, they saw the manufacturing process involved to make the wide range of items, from the track assembly fitting of rails to sleeper and points with their little springs and electrical connections to painting and printing on the small trucks and locomotives with their fine railway detailed names, which were then securely boxed ready for dispatch throughout the UK and in 34 countries around the world.

The group’s next trip will be on Wednesday, June 22, to the South Devon Railway at Buckfastleigh and there was a reminder from trip organiser Les Whaley to book a place.

Roger Webster gave thanks to ‘Peco’ for a special Launceston Railway Circle insight and visit into the workings of the factory.

They proceeded to the 7.25 inch gauge Beer Heights Light Railway, all aboard to depart from ‘Much Natter’ Station at 3.40pm, hauled by steam engine ‘Claudine’ with a mile of track through cuttings and a dark tunnel to explore the gardens with water features and take in the ‘limited view with sea mist’, normally being able to view the length of the Jurassic Coastline and Bay.

They finally returned to the station at 4pm and watched ‘Claudine’ on the turntable run-round ready for the next departure.