Special Gifts Elite

James May's Top Toys

What have Steven Spielberg, Neil Young, Pete Waterman and James May all got in common? They are all model train enthusiasts.

Music industry mogul Pete Waterman has a magnificent system, housed in a 200 foot barn, reputed to be worth as much as half a million pounds sterling. He even owns his own train making company. And this isn’t in the least bit unusual amongst wealthy model train enthusiasts. Neil Yound and Steven Spielberg have their own, respected model train company called Lionel trains.

And this group of well known personalities are not alone in their enthusiasm for model trains. Building and operating model railways is no longer the preserve of young boys. These days their dads and uncles, along with some old time rock musicians, who are more likely to be Hornby train enthusiasts.

Vintage model train collecting has become big business. Collectors look for vintage model locomotives that are in pristine condition, still in their boxes having never been used on a track. As Mr May correctly says in his TV programme, this is not what these model trains were meant for.

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. Mr May unceremoniously threw the box away when he built the system in his James May’s Top Toys television programme.

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 link suffered due to vandals stealing some of the track for a short time Bideford and Barnstaple were once again linked by rail. Unfortunately the little model trains were obviously not big enough to carry any passengers but a lot of people enjoyed building the rail link.

You could win one of two fantastic Hornby Train Sets in the current Christmas Hornby Competition from modelzone.co.uk. All you have to do is answer one simple question and you could win a fantastic Hornby train set.