About the Exeter Gauge O Group - 31 years old in 2024.
The Exeter Gauge O Group (EXEGOG for short) exists to cater for modellers in Mid & East Devon, South Somerset and West Dorset, working in or around 7mm scale, whatever the gauge. Our members have a wide and diverse range of prototype and modelling interests and skills, and at the last count we had people working in SIX different gauges! Geographically the group covers a very wide area, with our members travelling from South and East Devon, Somerset and West Dorset.
We meet at The Victory Hall in the village of Whimple just east of Exeter, (close to the M5 and A30/303 dual carriageway) usually on the first and third Thursday evenings of the month. Please contact us or check the diary pages before coming, to confirm what is happening.
We have a large test track facility available at most meeting evenings, with a circuit of approximately 22 metres. This offers not only 32mm gauge but also 14mm and 16.5mm circuits for running - ideal for those with limited running facilities at home. Both DCC and DC control facilities are available. Standard gauge trackwork is all standard Peco.
A few years ago we acquired Wedmore, which is an end to end country station layout kept on site at Whimple with our test track, and is put up regularly for members to play trains. Members have significantly upgraded many facets of this lovely 1990s layout, including electrics, scenery and signalling. In September 2023 it made its first revamped appearance at Guildex, and is now frequently to be seen at exhibitions around the Westcountry. As I write this (July 2024) we're in the process of redesigning and extending the right-hand end of the layout.
Also on Club nights we hold occasional modelling “Clinics” on various subjects, for developing skills and sorting out that difficult kit.
Regular annual events include the Modelling Competition, Bring & Buy sale, Christmas Meal etc. Meetings sometimes conclude with a visit to the nearby village pub, The Thirsty Farmer, which is at least 50 yards away! In addition we have a portable display stand which we use to “fly the flag” at local Exhibitions.
A Brief History of EXEGOG
The group was founded in the early 1990s, and for several years met in a repurposed Baptist Chapel just east of the city centre, owned by Devon County Council and operated as a community hall. This was moderately satisfactory but the hall was cold and damp, and we had to clear everything away after each session. Things came to a head when a member of a local karate club put his foot through the floor into the total immersion baptism tank. At this point DCC decided that continued ownership of the hall was no longer viable so put the building on the market.
Enter retired dentist and long-term philanthropic club member Jim Harries, who unbeknown to the membership quietly purchased the hall from Devon County Council and handed it to us in which to play trains on a peppercorn rent. He had the place rewired, a new heating and plumbing system put in, and we redecorated it. Here we had a large layout space, a snug with library, kitchen facilities etc. We had unfettered access to the building, and steadily built up a round-and-round layout about 28' x 20' with one side broadly modelled on the GW main line at Dawlish Warren. Sadly Jim died in 2010 and we had to vacate the hall the following year.
Below are a few pictures of Hope Hall with members of that era, after Jim Harries had purchased and upgraded it for us. The shot of the crowd at one end also shows the 'platform' above the kitchen and 'snug', together with the ladder up which we used to have to haul the test track before we enjoyed sole occupancy. By this time (2003) the platform was occupied by some little people - 4mm modelling friends of Jim. The photo of Jonathan Lear is included as he was a hugely enthusiastic and active member of the club; he was a recently-retired Royal Marine officer, a wonderful, generous, warm-hearted man who tragically died from cancer about 15 years ago at the age of just 61. He caused many to smile when at one modelling competition, he produced a GWR-style PW hut stained with real creosote. Many of the faces in these photos were regular club members whom we see no more; we trust they are looking down (or up!) at us and approve of what we are doing now.
In the absence of permanent dedicated-use premises, we eventually settled on the bright and modern Victory Hall in Whimple with its excellent facilities. Here we could hold regular meetings in a comfortable hall with good heating and a large kitchen, good car parking and access, and with vital storage space - recently extended (2023-4) to accommodate both the test track and our small display layout. It is also geographically well-situated for access For some time we had the generous loan of the Yeovil Club’s spare test-track to sustain running facilities while we designed and built our own test track, which is now fully operational. As mentioned elsewhere we've also acquired Wedmore, an end-to-end fully-scenic layout which we've restored and are now exhibiting.
If you are interested in coming along, please use the Contact page to check before travelling.
If you are interested in coming along, please use the Contact page to check before travelling.