About Us

Canberra Society of Model & Experimental Engineers was formed over twenty years ago, to encourage model & experimental engineering in the Canberra region. Various specialist groups operate within the society, covering a diverse range of subjects and catering for the particular preferences of the members.

The club has presented many public exhibitions of projects constructed by members and is an active forum for discussion. It provides a valuable resource from which the Model Engineer can draw. Members from the the complete novice to the skilled tradesman all benefit from the exchange of ideas, common within the membership.

A Brief History of the CSMEE

The Society was formed in 1973 following an advertisement in The Canberra Times in 1972. A number of the original members are still in the Society and membership now is over 100 with ages ranging from 9 to over 80 years.

A portable railway track was built in 1980 and was used at the Malkara Special School Exhibition in that year and every year since.  Also in 1980 a ground level 5”/7¼” dual gauge track was built in the clay pit area of the Old Canberra Brickworks. In 1983 the CSMEE moved to the Kingston site, formerly a rubbish dump. During 1983 and the following year, work to fence and clear and level the site for a track base and a tree and shrub planting program continued.

Track laying commenced on Australia Day in 1985 and twelve months later the mainline was complete and trains could run on 705 m of track. Several turnouts were installed and the top end circle completed, extending the run to about a kilometre.  This led to the CSMEE’s first Invitation Run in 1993, now held as an annual event.

Much work has been completed in recent years with a signal box, access tracks into the storage containers, and upgraded electrical and signalling system. The Kingston Miniature Railway now attracts thousands of visitors a year but numbers are restricted by the area available.

Impending development of the general area in which the track is located means that activities will again have to be relocated.  Negotiations are under way to obtain a new site.