Model railway manufacturer PECO, one of railway modelling’s oldest manufacturers of track and accessories, has announced a range of ideal Christmas gifts for model railway enthusiasts, with a range of tours of its factory at Beer in Devon.

The Manufacturing Tours allow visitors to go behind the scenes at the company’s 57,000 sq ft. factory.

There are two types of behind-the-scenes experiences, a 2-hour ‘Silver Experience’ tour which gives a full tour of the factory, and a full-day ‘Gold Experience’ where guests also have access to Pecorama Gardens & Trains, lunch onboard the 1950s Pullman carriage Orion, a Q&A with a PECO Head Of Department, a chance to make a souvenir wagon and a goodie bag to take home.

An alternative to taking a tour of the factory is one of four railway modelling courses, including the first steps in creating a model railway, making the trains run with a guide to laying track and installing the electrics, bringing the layout to life by creating landscapes and scenery, and going digital with an introduction to DCC (Digital Command Control).

In the First steps in creating a model railway, guests will learn how to plan and design a layout, the different scales, how to decide what period in history to choose for their layout to be based on, and the practicalities of creating a baseboard for their layout.

Making the trains run will give guests a demonstration of the basics of track laying and electrics, taking them through the techniques and knowledge needed to lay track and points, theory and practice of track wiring, and hints and tips needed to put what they’ve learned into practice.

Bringing the layout to life – creating landscape & scenery, will demonstrate how to make a model railway come alive, with the basics of scenery design and construction, ballasting the track and shaping the scenery, how to add grass, trees, and other vegetation for added realism.

Going digital – introduction to DCC (Digital Command Control) will explain what DCC can do for a layout, its benefits over traditional analogue control, how to fit decoders into locomotives, and how to use it with accessories.

Locomotive Driver Experiences will show guests how to prepare, fire and drive a miniature steam locomotive on the Beer Heights Light Railway. There are two experiences: a Steam Driver Experience and an advanced Steam Driver Experience.

The Steam Driver Experience will show participants how to prepare and operate a steam locomotive, and give them the chance to drive it on the Beer Heights Light Railway with expert tuition and supervision from PECO’s highly experienced staff. The Advanced Steam Driver Experience is for anyone who has completed the one-day Driver Experience course, and will allow them to drive a freight train with a variety of motive power and carry out shunting at various sidings and stations along the route.

Last year was the company’s 50th anniversary, and to celebrate the occasion, it brought out a limited edition OO-9 gauge wagon with a golden theme. Earlier this year, as part of the Rail 200 celebrations, it ran a competition to design a model railway layout.