After years of effort, a model railway museum will be moving into their first home next month.

The Ashford International Model Railway Education Centre (AIMREC) will be occupying a unit in the Elwick Place leisure complex from Saturday, December 7, ahead of a move to a permanent home.

Plans for the Ashford-based model railway museum emerged in February 2014, and quickly gained support from celebrities including Jools Holland, Pete Waterman and Roger Daltry.

Project lead Cliff Parsons originally eyed the Klondyke Works site on Newtown Road, however land contamination concerns made development unfeasibly expensive for the group.

Soon, the museum will be relocating to a permanent home - a 38,000 sq ft unit in County Square.

Now, the museum has been offered a showcase suite at Elwick Place, where it will join the likes of food supplier Macknade and Recursive Media.

Sample layouts and dioramas of differing sizes and scales will be displayed, and visitors to the free museum can read information about model railways and their designs.

The launch's announcement comes at a time of great interest in the borough's hobbyist scene.

The 'Railmen of Kent' - a group of enthusiasts from the borough - won Saturday's final of Channel 5's The Great Model Railway Challenge, triumphing over three rival teams with their complex Harry Potter- and St Pancras-themed builds.

Some of the layouts featured on the show are hoped to be moving there, and members of the team will be on hand at the launch event to meet visitors and talk about their experience on the show.

The showroom is hoping to entice potential visitors and investors before AIMREC moves onto its new County Square home.

The free admission museum will be open from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays from December 7.

If you would like to volunteer to help man the layouts at the suite, explain the concept and AIMREC's vision, or to help at the future centre, contact the museum at friends@aimrec.co.uk

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