A model railway in the north-west of England has become a record breaker.
The layout built for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway has entered the Guinness World Records for being the oldest complete working model railway. First put together in 1912 it has been used at a signalling school at Victoria Station in Manchester but in 1995 it made the short trip across the Pennines to the National Railway Museum. It has taken a team of dedicated volunteers to bring the set back to life.
Despite being a historic artefact, the layout had remained unused until 1999 when it was slowly reconstructed and restored back its 1925 state. The Guinness World Records title is testament to the hard work that has gone into the model railway over the years and the news has delighted the volunteers involved with the project.
One of those is Bob Brook. Mr Brook has been working on the signal school layout and explained the honour it was to enter the history books. He added: “The railway has trained up countless signallers in the past and we look forward to many more years of working on it and showing a new generation of rail enthusiasts how it works.”
The record-breaking model railway is just one of the plethora of attractions on offer at the National Railway Museum. This weekend (April 4th to 6th) will see a large display of the 5″ gauge model railway (GL5). This will be situated outside the museum’s collection building and will sit alongside the standard gauge locomotive displays.
It is a great way for younger children to learn about the processes of a steam engine at their level. There will be crossing points and miniature steam engine so it is a must for all the family looking for something to do for a weekend treat.