A backyard miniature railway that three generations of the same family have maintained in their backyard is so impressive that it has become a tourist attraction in Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire.
David Page, 32, is the latest generation to have taken up the mantle of maintaining the miniature railway. He first started learning how to control the locomotives when the was three years old and has grown up learning all about them.
Watch the video of this miniature railway below.
[rumble video_id=v5kxrl domain_id=u7nb2]
Video credit: Rumble
After David’s grandfather, David Keatley, passed away in 2011 at the age of 87, there was no doubt in the family’s mind that they should continue maintaining the fifty-engine strong railway that has been going strong for two decades.
The young David, a delivery driver, worked from memory to revamp the miniature trains as he had been watching his grandfather for ‘as long as he can remember.’
David’s dad Ivan, 64, helped revitalize the railway by bringing in fresh materials. The pair then installed a model village that has impressed other people so much that it has become a tourist attraction.
David, a father-of-one, said: “My grandad who was an engineer and built everything from scratch, he didn’t have any instructions just sheets of metal.
“He originally spent a year building the railway in 1986 but continued to extend the tracks and years later my grandparents moved to the bungalow where it is now, and he rebuilt it.
“When he passed away, the wood was old, and locomotives were no longer in use, so it was important for my family and me to fix it back up.
“I learned from him you can build anything if you are willing to try so I brought all the trains home and put them on my dining table for longer than my wife Jane, 30 would have liked.
“It was like a trip down memory lane as everything reminded me of when I would watch my grandad build and fix them as a child.
“I managed to remember what to do as he took me under his wing and let me fix them myself in my early teens.
“He never once sat me down and taught me, I learned everything I know from being there and watching him like my son Jacob, three, does now.
“The railway runs around my parents garden and through the garage, my dad worked on the cosmetics and scenery while I do the engineering.
“I have upgraded all the trains so they can now make real train noises and whistle.
“Just two weeks ago [August 2019], I managed to finally fix my grandad’s pride and joy the ‘Victoria’ train, it is the only model which can stop and go without any human interaction.
“It was complex to fix, and we never thought it would run again so it was a really special moment when my grandmother, Paula, 91, and mom Sue, 59, witnessed it running again.”
The railway has enough capacity for 50 locomotives which includes the Thomas the Tank engine. The Page family is now using the funds generated by the miniature railway attraction to help charities like Marie Claire and 3 pillars who feed the homeless.
David added: “The railway has been in my life for as long as I can remember and spans across three generations, and it will be the same with my son too, who can already control some of the locomotives.
“It is great that we can share it with other people who seem to enjoy it just as much as we do.”
Replaced!