81A Oldoak

I have been interested in model railways ever since I received a Triang-Hornby "Car-a-Belle" trainset for Christmas in 1964. I had wanted the "The Highwayman" set with an EM2, OLE and extra large oval of track, but dad said it was too expensive so I allowed myself to be seduced by the 12 Minix cars in "Car-a-Belle".

My primary interest is the railways of Wales. My 4mm scale effort has been "Abersoch", a fictitious extension of the Cambrian coast line from Pwhlleli, which along with its sister station, Boduan Junction, has featured in the model railway press over the years. My O Gauge interest started about 18 years ago when I purchased a Slater's 7-plank wagon from David Smith's Blacksmith Models for experimental purposes. I started to build to build the long promised South Wales Valleys branch line in February 2014 and you can follow its progress in the Cwm Bach forum in the 7mm Modelling zone on RMWeb. Since then I have started a new layout, Tonfanau Camp, with a BR/Cambrian Coast theme based on the real Tonfanau station, but with the addition of a military spur into the army camp.

I started Ixion Model Railways Ltd in 2007 with two Australian friends, Lindsay O'Reilly and Phil Badger. Our first model was an N Gauge Manor, but we soon decided that N Gauge was too much of an arms race and our real interests lay in 7mm scale, which is also a much more gentlemanly pursuit. We like to think that we have brought something new to 7mm scale with our series of affordable O Gauge RTR locomotives.

In 2014, I started Minerva Model Railways Ltd with Chris Basten, the proprietor of Dragon Models. Our first model is an 0 gauge RTR Peckett E Class 0-4-0ST, which we delivered to market in December 2015 less than 9 months after announcing it.

Until recently, I was a reinsurance broker in the City of London, a job that I had been doing since 1994 and I still do some free-lance work if it appeals to me. Before then, I was a commissioned officer in the British Army. I served in the Staffordshire Regiment and latterly in the Royal Army Pay Corps, which is where Iearnt to do sums. After graduation from York University and Sandhurst, I was stationed variously in Blackpool, Colchester, Surrey, Germany, Gibraltar, Belize and Northern Ireland (South Armagh), the last during The Troubles. I have been happily married to Lorna since 1981 and we have three sons, three daughters and five grand-children. My other interests are photography, travel and history (I am a trustee of The Staffordshire Regiment Museum in Lichfield) as well as being an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I firmly believe that model railways should be fun, and believe that rivets are joining pieces of metal not counting. I also believe that any model railway is better than no model railway.