What have Steven Spielberg, Neil Young, Pete Waterman and James May all got in common? They are all keen model train enthusiasts.
Music producer Pete Waterman has a huge, million dollar model railway system housed in its own 200 foot barn. He even owns his own model train business. And there are many wealthy model train enthusiasts with a similar obsession. Steven Spielberg and Neil Young have their own model train company called Lionel trains.
And this little group of well known personalities are not alone in their obsessive enthusiasm for model trains. Building model railway systems is no longer a hobby pursued by young boys. It’s their dads, their uncles and even the old rock musicians they listen to who are more likely to have a room full of Hornby Trains.
Vintage model train collecting has become big business. Obsessive model train collectors are not interested in playing with the model trains and they only want pristine vintage models, still in their boxes having never been played with. As Mr May says, these models were meant to be played with and not kepe in their boxes.
At a model train auction Mr won a completely unused Hornby train set for £200 which other collectors would have kept, unused, in its box. James May is not an obsessive collector, prefering to play with these vintage models than to look at them in their boxes.
In the pre-Christmas December 20th edition of James May’s Toy Stories he and loads of helpers rebuild the long lost rail link between Bideford and Barnstaple in Devon using OO gauge model train track. Although the model rail link suffered when some vandals stole some of the track for a short time Bideford was once again linked to Barnstaple by rail. Obviously the model trains didn’t carry any passengers of goods but the people involved had a great time building the track.
You could win one of two fantastic Hornby Train Sets in the current Christmas Hornby Competition from modelzone.co.uk. Just answer one simple question and you’re in with a chance.
