REPLICA models of four historic Furness Railway locomotives are to go on display to the public.

Engines, carriages and wagons from the heyday of the railway will be on show at an exhibition in Barrow this weekend.

They were faithfully and painstaking recreated by Ross Pochin and Bill Shillcock, pioneer members of the Manchester Model Railway Club, over a period of 18 years.

The exact scale replicas of the heyday of the Furness Railway - four locomotives, five carriages and several wagons - will be on display to the public at a Furness Model Railway Club exhibition on Saturday and Sunday.

Ross and Bill were pioneers in introducing 4 mm scale models which were all “scratch-built”, even down to the wheels on the early model engines. They won many awards at the annual Manchester model railway exhibitions in the competitions of the day.

In 2008, their collection was bought by the Cumbrian Railways Association, and has now been displayed at a exhibitions throughout northern England.

Philip Tuer, modelling coordinator of the Cumbrian Railways Association said: “The standard of modelling is of the highest level and even today they are as good as, if not better than those current mainstream manufacturers are producing”.

The Cumbrian Railways Association is an educational charity founded in 1976 to promote interest in and knowledge of the very varied railway history of the county of Cumbria.

The association holds two conferences a year in the county for its members, complemented by a programme of outdoor visits.

Membership currently numbers over 440, UK and world-wide.

l The Model Railway & Transport Exhibition is at Barrow Sixth Form College, Rating Lane, LA13 9LE.