A MASSIVE model railway will come to life in Chester today (July 16) as a result of a two-year collaboration between the city's cathedral and celebrity Pete Waterman OBE.
Most people think of Waterman as a successful record producer, songwriter and TV personality, however, he’s also a lifelong railway enthusiast.
Along with the ‘Railnuts’ - a group of dedicated friends who live and breathe model railways - he has created an enormous 74ft long model railway for Chester Cathedral, which follows on from their celebrated 2003 creation ‘Leamington Spa.’
The event, dubbed 'Making Tracks - Discover the West Coast Main Line' is the cathedral’s fabulous summer event and will see model railway occupy the length of the nave until early-September.
Chester Model Centre is sponsoring the event and were unvited to attend the launch event today.
Speaking ahead of installing the model railway into the cathedral, Waterman said: “We’ve worked very hard on this model, used some innovative techniques, and created a layout that represents how the West Coast Main Line really appears.
"What’s interesting though, is that none of us have seen the whole model together, in one piece; there’s nowhere big enough for us to do it.
"Bringing it into the nave of the Cathedral will be the first time the whole entire model is brought together, and I know it will impress model railway enthusiasts and families alike. People will love it!”
Caption: Train fan Pete Waterman talking with driver Neil Barker last month on board the Avanti West Coast Class 390 EMU train at Glasgow Central Station after failing to break the 36-year-old record for the fastest train journey between London and Glasgow. Picture by:Jane Barlow
The model railway will also feature the work of Thomas Brassey, the Chester-born civil engineer who had, by 1847, built one-third of the railways in Britain, and is memorialised in Chester Cathedral’s St Erasmus Chapel.
Dean of Chester, the Very Revd Dr Tim Stratford said: "Brassey was the most remarkable civil engineer and at his death he was responsible for one in every twenty miles of railways around the whole world.
"He is estimated to have kept 80,000 people in employment and is remembered as an honourable and fair man.
"This model railway exhibition was originally planned to take place in the summer that covid cancelled, and celebrates Brassey 150 years after his death.
"In it we seek to open visitors’ eyes to something that changed the world but that we often take for granted.”
The model railway will be accompanied by Nicky Thompson's "Marvellous Days Out" railway poster exhibition, courtesy of the Northern and Mid-Cheshire Community Rail Partnerships.
Making Tracks opens at 10am today and runs until Friday, September 3. The event is open Monday to Saturday, 10am until 5pm (last entry 4.30pm).
- Tickets are on sale now at just £2.50 per person. Click chestercathedral.com to book.
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