The Otago Model Engineering Society is organising "Night Lights", two evening events to be held tomorrow and Saturday.
Secretary John Ware said this would be the first time the organisation had run a night time event and it was designed to appeal to young families.
The society’s St Kilda outdoor rail track at 1 John Wilson Ocean Dr will be decorated with fairy lights and radio-controlled boats on the pond will be illuminated during the after-dark sessions.
Inside the clubrooms, scale-model railway trains, tracks and landscapes will display night time scenes.
The club’s 3-D printing and technology group will demonstrate excavators, trucks and other machines in the hall.
"They are quite sophisticated, the models these guys are making."
Mr Ware said he had been in touch with most primary schools in the area and had received an enthusiastic response.
The event had been planned to coincide not only with school holidays but also to take place before daylight saving began on Sunday.
The group would not be charging an entry fee, only a small cost for train rides.
"We will just have it as a fun night type of thing."
While setting up and testing the night lights, group members were amazed to see how the atmosphere changed.
"The place took on a type of magical ambience.
"The reflections from the boats in the pond added to this surreal experience," he said.
The event was inspired by the Canterbury Society of Model and Experimental Engineers, which has held a “night-run” for several years.
"During the middle of winter the kids all come rugged up and so forth and all the lights are on and it has gone down a treat.
"We thought, well look, it is well worth us doing it, we have never done it before."
Night Lights
Otago Model Engineering Society
Friday and Saturday September 26 and 27
Gates open 6.30pm
Free entry
Food and drinks available
