Model railway that was destroyed by thugs goes on display for the first time since being restored after donations from well wishers including Rod Stewart
- Market Deeping Model Railway Club said that a ‘life’s work’ had been destroyed
- Youths trashed the club’s £30,000 display at Stamford, Lincolnshire, on May 18
- But crowdfunded donations, including £10,000 from Sir Rod, raised £107,000
- The sets have now been restored and are on display at the NEC in Birmingham
A model railway exhibit which was destroyed by vandals has gone on display after being restored thanks to an outpouring of donations.
Members of the Market Deeping Model Railway Club said a ‘life’s work’ had been destroyed after youths trashed the £30,000 display at Stamford, Lincolnshire, on May 18.
A surge in crowdfunded donations, including £10,000 from singer and model railway enthusiast Sir Rod Stewart, allowed the club to raise more than £107,000 to go towards repairs.
Members of the Market Deeping Model Railway Club said a ‘life’s work’ (pictured) had been destroyed after youths trashed the £30,000 display at Stamford, Lincolnshire, on May 18
Editor of Railway Modeller Steve Flint (left) presenting Sir Rod Stewart with a model wagon gift after his model railway that has been 26 years in the making has finally been unveiled. The musician donated £10,000 to a crowdfunding appeal to repair the exhibitions damaged earlier this year
Exhibits worth tens of thousands of pounds were destroyed after vandals broke into the school in Lincolnshire and smashed up models belonging to Market Deeping Model Railway Club
The sets are now restored and on display at the Warley National Model Railway Show at the Birmingham NEC.
Market Deeping Model Railway Club chairman Peter Davies told the PA news agency that he was ‘delighted’ at the restoration of the display.
He said: ‘We had to rebuild from the platform up.
‘As chairman of the club I am proud of all of the guys.’
Four youths were arrested on suspicion of burglary and criminal damage and have since been released on conditional bail. Above: A destroyed model lies on the floor of the school hall
Members of the Market Deeping Model Railway Club rebuilding their railway models. Pictured left to right: Peter Davies, Chairman, Colin Broom, Bill Sowerby and Mick Quinn
The trail of destruction left railway enthusiasts distraught. The club was blown away by a flood of donations on a Just Giving website
Mr Davies said that it took 25 club members 1,000 hours of work to restore the models by hand, with some of the originals having taken years to build.
Commenting on Sir Rod’s ‘amazing and truly humbling’ donation, he added: ‘This kind of thing doesn’t happen, model railway exhibitions don’t get trashed.
‘To have that sort of donation has enabled us to get back on track.’
Model railway enthusiast Sir Rod Stewart, pictured with a huge set from his Beverley Hills home, donated £10,000 to Market Deeping Model Railway Club
This picture shows the scale of the damage, with flipped tables, chairs and destroyed equipment
Members of the Lincolnshire-based club were left devastated after the destruction led to the cancellation of the model railway event at Stamford Welland Academy
He said he was going to meet the singer and now honorary club member when they both appear as guests on the BBC’s The One Show on Monday.
In August, Lincoln Youth Court heard that three ‘mindless’ youths shared a bottle of vodka as part of a pre-exam night out before deliberately destroying the exhibition, which was on display at the Stamford Welland Academy.
The 16-year-old schoolboys, along with a fourth defendant, went on a 4am ‘rampage’ by pushing tables over and throwing parts of displays against the wall.
The Warley National Exhibition is on Saturday and Sunday and showcases more than 90 model railway layouts from the UK and abroad.
Mr Andrews had model railway sets as early as he can remember as a child, and began making them himself when his oldest child Louis, now 35, was interested in Thomas The Tank Engine
Mr Andrews said the destruction was ‘mindless’. ‘It’s depressing. It’s frustrating someone has destroyed a big chunk of my business,’ he added
The models which Mr Andrews constructed were painstakingly constructed over hundreds of hours but were smashed to pieces in just a few minutes