Visitors to Wroxham Miniature Worlds in Norfolk are in for a treat as the UK's largest model railway is due to open in the attraction.
Covering the area of a football pitch, the layout is believed to be among the biggest, if not the biggest, in the country and brings together intricate layouts depicting both British and Japanese scenery. Sean Green is the brainchild behind the model railway and the public opening represents the end of a long journey for this incredible labour of love.
The exhibit was originally scheduled to open in September 2013 but a fire in an adjacent building to Wroxham Miniature Worlds caused smoke damage to some of the layouts. It prompted Mr Green to touch up the layouts before they could be fully unveiled to the public. Now that time is drawing near, the 45-year-old is excited about people seeing the finished article.
Mr Green said: "When we started building the layouts in February 2012, we didn't realise how big the project would become. We quickly found that we were clearing out UK stocks of many items, then the European stocks and eventually we had to have many items manufactured especially for us."
The layout has been made from over 2,500 individual pieces of model railway track with around 300 locomotives, wagons and coaches trundling along the track. Mr Green has created scenes of English countryside, a Tudor era town and a Japanese metropolis. The Norwich native explain that the latter took tremendous attention to detail to ensure that it was both authentic and true to his original vision.
Wroxham Miniature Worlds is confident that the latest addition to its site will draw in visitors not only from the UK but from further afield as well. Mr Green's layout will compliment the existing displays including a Japanese Railway Layout, Slot Car Layout and Indoor Garden Layout.