Macro-model of Lleida station in the 1980s at Lleida Expo Tren
The Model Railway and Railway Leisure Trade Show will take place on 14 and 15 March
The trade fair celebrates its 15th anniversary with almost double the exhibition space and 75 exhibitors representing Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, England and Austria
The 15th edition of Lleida Expo Tren will showcase a large-scale reproduction of Lleida station as it was in the 1980s, which will be exhibited for the first time to the public by the Friends of Miniature Railways of the Ateneu Popular de Ponent. The station recreation, in M scale, comprising 7 modules and 8.5 metres in length, recreates the station with its original canopies, from Comtes d'Urgell street to beyond the Segre river, including the three branches to Tarragona, Barcelona and La Pobla de Segur. Lleida station is one section of a larger 30-metre layout comprising 30 modules. The reproduction is the result of 3 years of work by 8 model railway enthusiasts from the Ateneu Popular de Ponent. The Ateneu and the T-Trak Nordeste Model Railway Association are the two local entities present at the trade fair.
The International Model Railway and Railway Leisure Trade Show will take place on 14 and 15 March in Halls 4 and 5 of Fira de Lleida, opening from 10:00 to 20:00 (Saturday) and 10:00 to 14:00 (Sunday).
Lleida Expo Tren reaches its 15th anniversary with more exhibition space, more exhibitors and more activities. In total, there will be 75 exhibitors (40 commercial and 35 recreational), 420 accredited participants and 32 brands represented, as explained by Pilar Bosch, Municipal Councillor for Culture and City Promotion. The trade show will feature representation from Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, England and Austria, a fact that consolidates its international character. The organisers note that the trade show is becoming increasingly well-known abroad and that the presence of visitors and participants from European countries is growing steadily.
Pilar Bosch also highlighted that Lleida Expo Tren, which attracts more than 8,000 visitors each year, will debut Hall 5 this year and recalled that all visitors arriving by train will receive Renfe discounts.
Raül Valls, organiser of the trade show, highlighted the expansion of the trade fair, which reaches 7,300 m2 and almost doubles the exhibition space of the 2025 edition, an expansion that will allow the recovery of the indoor circuit with a 12.7 cm gauge track. The space will host a manned model railway gathering on Saturday, with participation of electric and steam locomotives. This railway attraction, which allows the transport of children and adults, will be open to the public throughout the weekend.
Valls emphasised that the large attendance of exhibitors and visitors has led to full occupancy of the city's hotels. He also highlighted "the satisfaction of giving railway culture the importance it deserves and turning Lleida during one weekend into the railway capital of southern Europe". Valls also gave a brief summary of the trade show's successful trajectory, which began in 2010 coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the railway in Lleida.
Another novelty this year, Valls noted, is the exhibition "Ten years of the Stadler train on the Lleida-Balaguer-La Pobla de Segur line", a display of artistic photographs by Joan Solé focused on these Swiss-made railway units that have been operating on this route for 10 years.
The First Vice-President of the Diputació de Lleida, Agustí Jiménez, said that this trade fair "is a revival of model railway culture throughout Catalonia, which projects Lleida to the outside world, as it attracts people from here and also from elsewhere" and that "it contributes to revitalising the economic and cultural activity of the territory".
For her part, Montserrat Parra, Director of the Territorial Services for Culture, emphasised the continued growth of the project and the fact that the trade show has established itself as one of the most important model railway trade fairs in southern Europe. She also stated that trade fairs linked to the leisure sector such as Lleida Expo Tren "demonstrate that they have great appeal".
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of its creation, the Asociación Modulos Foro Trenes, which has representation throughout the country, will present a spectacular H0 scale model (1:87) that will occupy an area of 336 m2. Also participating for the first time at the trade show will be the Lleida Paratroops Historical Recreation Association, which will present a large 10-metre-long model made with Playmobil figures, owned by Joan Marc Guerrero, inspired by the Second World War.
This year, participation by the Catalan Federation of Friends of the Railway is consolidated, which includes 40 associations, and the collaboration of the Union Artistique et Intellectuelle des Cheminots Français, an entity comprising 170 French associations that highlights the international character of the trade fair. On the other hand, the German brand Märklin will set up a recreational area where children can play with miniature trains and get started in model railway building.
The trade show is organised by the magazine Más Tren, with the support of Fira de Lleida and the Ajuntament de Lleida.