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.
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