After years of
traveling up and down the A34 for work, passing Abingdon and knowing Pendon
Museum and Didcot Railway Centre were only a stone’s throw away I was only
recently able to visit Pendon for the first time.
Over the years I’d read many articles about Pendon and
recently acquired a couple of books of Roye England’s poems, one of which also
had a brief biographical content so was very enlightening and evocative. All
this though did not prepare me for the sheer scale and quality what I saw.
Firstly there is the Madder Valley Railway exhibit. From an
early age I’ve read articles about John Ahern’s Madder Valley Railway and
recently seen YouTube videos of the model. Seeing in the flesh is a different
experience. Yes it is a model of its time, looking a little tired around the
edges and not of today's quality of modelling, but what a project. As they state
at the Museum John Ahern was possibly the first person to build a model railway
and place it in a believable, though fictious, scenic location. It was an
inspirational layout to many including my young self.
As I walked into the next room I was greeted with the
Dartmoor scene and its wooden truss viaduct. I must have stood there for over
30 minutes watching the procession of trains travel across the viaduct before
moving on to look over Pen Tor Road junction station. The volunteers in
attendance were keen to share their knowledge and give insights into the
history of the exhibit to all who asked and showed an interest in the scene,
myself included.
It was then onto the Vale Scene. On reaching the top of the
stairs…Wow… the sheer scale of the scene is impressive. Words, video or photographs
cannot do it justice, it has to be seen in the flesh to fully appreciate. In
fact I was that impressed that I went back the next day to soak up more of the
scenes.
When leaving the museum on the second day I purchased the
book “In search of a dream”. This book is about Roye England’s life and his commitment
to creating the museum with all the sacrifices he had to make. After reading
the book I’m even more impressed by what has been achieved at Long Whittenham. It’s
well worth a read…
