Well it has been announced that Pecorama will close for the 2026 season. Here is the official statement: “It is with great sadness and after much soul-searching we have decided to close Pecorama, our well-loved family attraction, for the 2026 season. Despite Pecorama having had a busy year of trading involving its 50 th anniversary of the Beer Heights Railway and concluding this past half term week with rewarding Halloween events, the business continues to make a loss. What is generally not known is that Pecorama is only profitable for about 4 months of the year and the remaining months has to be supported financially. This has been the case for many years. With the challenging economic climate and costs continuing to rise, the PECO parent company cannot continue to give this support each year to Pecorama. There is sincere hope that Pecorama can reopen in future in a new format which will continue to give lots of inspiration, fun and pleasure to our visitors. But, for the moment PECO will be focusing on growing the core businesses of manufacturing and publishing. This decision of immediate closure sadly means that a few members of loyal staff have opted for voluntary redundancy, and we must point out that this decision is no reflection on the efforts and commitment of our staff who have worked extra hard this year.” Thoughts?
My last visit there was in 1983 which I guess makes me part of the problem! Seems kind of inevitable though, really. The model railway hobby has priced itself out of the market and fewer young people are taking it up, so Peco is no longer a household name. The sort of holidays people took in the 70’s or 80’s - staying at a UK seaside resort for a week or two and exploring the local attractions - have gone out of vogue. People with kids probably struggle to afford a holiday at all and young adults are more interested in the “sun and sin” of Ibiza or Phuket than visiting a miniature railway nearby rundown seaside towns and in often inclement British weather. Most miniature railways around the country are in parks and supported by voluntary effort, costs being covered by casual walk up ridership or curiosity value. They don’t require a special effort to get there. There is the odd exception such as the Moors Valley Railway but who knows how they also are faring in these economic times. And Pecorama by no means the first casualty. The Dobwalls Railway in Cornwall closed quite a few years ago now. Perhaps DTG should strike an agreement with Peco to put the Beer Heights Railway in TSW. Either scaled up or represented in its original form.
