How many houses do you see for sale which boast a complete miniature railway in the garden? Not many.
However, a train enthusiast in Perthshire has taken his hobby to a new level and created an impressive layout to the rear of his home. Eighty-one-year-old Bob Smith has spent the past 30 years creating a model railway fanatic's paradise at his aptly named Station House at Comrie in the Scottish county, Daily Record reports.
The property is a homage to everything great about the UK's golden age of steam and Bob takes real pride in his work. Since moving into the house he has built nearly a mile of miniature tracks which is patrolled by six full-working steam engines and one diesel. There is also two level crossings, three cuttings and even a tunnel, all of which have been created by Bob himself.
Sadly though, Bob feels it is time to move and relocate to something smaller but he is keen to see the railway go to a loving home. He told the news provider that he has been the house on a railway fans' website in the hope that a fellow enthusiast can take on the property and maintain his cherished possessions.
He added: "I hope I find someone like me to buy it – but younger. I’d like to see the locomotives running for a long time yet. I built my first locomotive while I was still at school, a little steam engine. That’s where it started.
"Since I was a young boy, I was always interested in making things. I didn't ever particularly want to be an engine driver but I suppose that’s how it turned out."
Bob's story is yet another example of the special place that model railways have in the hearts of people around the UK. It is something that builds from childhood and many people take in later life and many people will love to create an exhibition akin to Bob's.