New model railway shop to open in Grantham

A new model railway shop is due to open in Grantham later this year.

Rocket Railways will be opened by model enthusiast Jason Thickpenny at the Old Maltings, off Springfield Road, in Grantham.

Jason, 34, will hold an open day on Saturday, October 26, at the new shop, which will exhibit two layouts which were made for the Channel 5 series The Great Model Railway Challenge.

The layouts were offered to Jason by Matt Jarvis, another railway model enthusiast from Grantham, who took part in the Channel 5 series which will be aired from the end of this month.

Matt was part of a team, called The Muddle Go Nowhere, which included his daughter Lucy, another friend from Grantham Phil Armstrong and three others from out of the area. Matt would only go so far as to say the team did “very well”.

Teams on the show are given three days to build a model railway layout including track, infrastructure and scenery. The team made two layouts which will be displayed in Jason’s shop.

Matt, a former sound engineer, said he was inspired to take part in the TV show after seeing the first series and “in a mad moment” applied.

After filming he was looking for a home for the layouts and saw Jason’s Facebook page.

Jason, of Stamford Street, started up his model railway business online about a year ago. He said he started in his bedroom with £20 buying and selling on eBay and it grew quickly from there. So much so that he decided he needed more room and found the space off Springfield Road.

About opening his new shop, he said: “I am excited and also terrified. But I am looking forward to meeting other people who are into this as well. I would love to start up a model railway club if there is the interest.”

Jason has a large range of used models, from those of interest to the serious modeller to others, like Thomas the Tank Engine, which youngsters will like. He will start stocking brand new Hornby models when he opens, together with scenery for layouts and the tools used to make them.

Jason’s passion stretches to the real thing and he has even had lessons to drive a steam engine. But like many people, his enthusiasm started as a child. He said: “Like most young kids I loved Thomas the Tank Engine and had a Hornby train set, but I never grew out of it.

“ I would love to encourage younger people to get into it and help them to do the practical stuff. They can let their imaginations run wild.”

For more details on Jason’s business go to www.rocketrailways.co.uk