Model Railway
The Maidstone Model Engineering Society constructed the original model railway track in 1949, which opened to the public in 1950. At this time it was just a simple oval shape.
In 1961, the Society extended the track to its present shape and length of 1,826ft. Since then, there have been numerous improvements to the facilities, all funded through giving rides to the public on the railway. These include the building of the clubhouse, workshop and storage facilities, the station buildings, and better access for unloading models.
The railway gives rides to the public every Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday afternoon during the summer months (approx. 2.30pm – 5pm).
Tethered Car Track
Just beyond the model railway lies the concrete ring that once formed Maidstone’s tethered car track. This unusual hobby became popular after the Second World War when many existing model engineering societies formed model car racing sections and groups of enthusiasts formed independent clubs.
Racing took place in hangars, factories, works canteens, garages and on tennis courts and purpose built tracks, all over the country. The end of the war also meant that there was a lot of production capacity and machinery looking for alternative markets to the war work they had been doing. Numerous commercial concerns and individuals were soon producing wheels, tyres, gearboxes, engines, and eventually complete cars, to satisfy the growing demand.
By the end of the 1940s over 50 companies were supplying equipment for the sport and there were similar numbers of permanent or temporary tracks. At its peak, tethered car racing in the UK was a truly national sport, with meetings organised at tracks all over the country.
As quickly as the sport had arrived so it declined. Despite hosting the European Championships at Woodside in 1954, the sport in general was in decline, and by 1955, tethered car racing and the industry that supported it had all but vanished.
There were still enthusiasts who continued to race and compete at the few remaining tracks. The last official competition in the UK seems to have been in 1959 at Blackpool, which coincided with the Model Car Association being wound up. Of the tracks that continued on an informal basis, the one in Mote Park survived the longest, finally closing in the 1970s.
Watch a short video of tethered car racing in Mote Park on the British Pathé News website.