Karen remembers getting a Hornby clockwork train set for Christmas when she was eight and writes:

My Swiss Grandfather who was a mad train buff and I used to watch trains all the time and he even worked with steam trains and on bridges in Australia.

Santa bought me my first train set – a Hornby clockwork set when I was 8, and that was a pretty unusual present for a girl in those days! I ran the thing off the rails! Since then, I have built lots of small model railways and I am currently working on one of Penzance, Cornwall England, circa 1950’s. My nephews have carried on the passion in our family.