The Madder Valley Railway will be shown in operation on an irregular basis during 2008. Click here for details.

In addition to Pendon Museum's own unique creations, John Ahern's famous and pioneering Madder Valley layout, preserved as a tribute to the modeller's art in its own right, is on permanent display. Built entirely by one man, this fascinating layout, dating from the 1930s, is an historical relic of the early days of scenic railway modelling. It pioneered the idea of scenic craftsmanship, for until then no-one had set a model railway in a fully developed landscape. It showed what could be done, and became almost legendary among modellers.

The Madder Valley layout presents a delightfully fanciful picture from the past. It is an imaginary scene depicting attractive countryside along the River Madder, from the higher ground at Gammon Magna down to the sea at Madderport. A quaint railway runs alongside the river most of the way, linking the hamlets and small industries along the valley with the bustling world of Madderport, with its shops and inns, warehouses, and busy harbour with ships.

Although the setting is fictitious, many of the details in the scene are based on real buildings; in the town, one row of shops and office buildings is from Ramsey in the Isle of Man, whilst the nearby hotel in blue and cream paint is marked 'Strong & Company, Romsey', which places it somewhere in Hampshire. Down by the quay, and near the station (which is also the sleepy headquarters of the Madder Valley Railway) is the Harbour Office whose original, complete with pillars, can still be seen at Poole, in Dorset.

Some distance up the Valley at Much Madder is a flour mill and a boatyard, typical riverside features. The railway divides here - one branch winding past the brickworks to Gammon End, where the station building is a copy of the structure which stood at Aston Rowant, in Oxfordshire. The main line climbs the over gorge past a local halt before piercing a spur through the foothills of ... the Madderhorn! This section is an echo of the Aberglaslyn Pass, and the route of the former Welsh Highland Railway from Portmadoc. Gammon Magna is the upper terminus of the railway. Many interesting details here, as elsewhere in the model, confirm John Ahern's photographer's eye, from the very seedy horse and cab (said to have been modelled from the last horse-drawn cab at Victoria Station, in London) to the fine perspective of the village street leading up to the Castle. In the area adjacent to the Madder Valley scene, Pendon also has a modest collection of interesting transport relics, and a small representation of a GWR signal box.