AALS TROPHY
Model Engineering is an international hobby and we often see fellow model engineers at large exhibitions and other events, or while they may be on holiday in the UK! In the same way, many UK model engineers go overseas to equivalent occasions. Strengthening these links is a good thing and for a number of years now FMES (formerly SFMES) has worked with the Australian Association of Live Steamers (https://www.aals.asn.au/) to provide for mutual trophies to be awarded at the respective organizations annual rally.
The competition, which is for live steam locomotives between 2½” and 7¼” gauge, is open to all members of clubs that are themselves members of FMES, and is held at the FMES annual rally in the Autumn each year. Entrants will be asked to show off their model under steam and working around the host club track for a period while the judges assess performance, and this, combined with a static view of the locomotive and chat with the owner/driver, will provide information for their assessment.
To enter, all you need to do is to come to the rally with your locomotive and be ready to run! Occasionally, the judges may ask owners of locomotives present on the day to enter the competition and so there is some informality to taking part.
The winning locomotive will feature in a booklet to record the event, press the ‘Past Years Winners Portfolios’ below to see these.
For the full picture below, click the image. Then you can use the left and right buttons to scroll through the pictures and click the black background behind the image to exit.
We hope to see you at the rally, and here are links to some information to assist you:
- 2025 FMES Rally: details here when confirmed