Tauranga's Model Railway Club - sharing a love of trains while training the brain

Tauranga's Model Railway Club president Mike Oldfield (right) and member Rob Thomson are fighting to get new clubrooms. Photo / George Novak

When people think of the Tauranga Model Railway Club they often imagine old men sitting in a dark basement, making trains go round in circles, president Mike Oldfield says.

But that's not all they do and he's keen to share the club with others.

"Unfortunately men, once they've lost their wives or retire, don't have an outlet like women do," he said.

"They vegetate a bit."

So Oldfield, and some of the others from the club, started going around Tauranga's retirement homes and villages with a model railway set.

The aim, he said, is to bring the residents - not just men - out of their shells and give them something to train their brains with.

"One of the things we're trying to develop is that community spirit and get people who've sat at home too long back out again.

"The simple things are often very important to people."

One of the ways they help people train their brain is by offering a shunting puzzle to solve, Oldfield said.

On the track are five sidings, a locomotive, and several trucks. The player is given a layout on where each truck needs to go and has to changes sets of points on the track so the trucks can be moved on to the correct sidings.

It's not as easy as it looks, Oldfield said, and takes "a lot of brainpower".

The club started their tour of Tauranga's retirement homes in September last year at Hodgson House in Tauranga South and had some excellent feedback, Oldfield said.

"All the rest homes have a newsletter ... They did a write-up and from that we've more inquiries and we hope it spreads further," club member Rob Thomson said.

For the moment, however, they've had to keep their trains at the club because of potential coronavirus, but they're keen to show them off again soon.

"Rest homes have vehicles which they [use to] take people out on outings," Thomson said.

"We can't invite them here because of the access ... It's not a nice place to invite people to like that."

The current clubrooms are on the second floor of the old Port Building on the corner of Mirrielees and Cross Rds. The stairs are steep and uncomfortable for many older people to climb, he said.

"If we can get new clubrooms with wheelchair access, people can hobble in on their walkers, that sort of thing ... Then we can invite them any time at all."

Thomson was especially keen to have new, accessible, clubrooms after seeing how the residents' faces "lit up" at Hodgson House.

"Even the people who obviously had Alzheimer's started to remember things that had happened in their youth," he said.

Thomson said the club was hoping to start work to set up a new clubhouse at Hewletts Rd Reserve, on Cherokee Pl in Mount Maunganui.

"The council have offered us a lease on a piece of land," he said - but the club still has to fund the building of the property.

"We're talking about $300,000 ... We just can't stretch to that."

Oldfield said they were going to talk to TECT and other public support funds to find the money for the clubhouse so they could get the build underway as soon as possible.

"We're trying to get the message out there," Thomson said.

"We've been trying to get new clubrooms for 10 years ... We've got to have new clubrooms to survive."