Model King James train to be auctioned for charity

A terminally ill retired railway engineer is auctioning his beloved model steam train to raise money in tribute to his wife.

Dennis Herbert's Great Western Railway King Class No. 6011 King James took nine years to build and has been on display at Wythall Miniature Railway, near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

Parts for the model had been sitting untouched for nearly a decade before they were bought by Mr Herbert, a self-taught model engineer from Birmingham.

The Elmdon Model Engineering Society and Transport Museum Wythall will oversee the auction, with all proceeds going to Alzheimer's Research UK.

Mr Herbert, 90, began his railway career in 1948 and worked on Great Western Railway locomotives, including GWR's King class, the largest steam locomotive it operated.

He worked on the engines which ran on the Wolverhampton to Paddington service, firing several trains.

The locomotive enthusiast was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer and reached out to the museum for their help with the sale in memory of his late wife, Iris Herbert.

A spokesperson for Transport Museum Wythall said: "The attention to detail is astonishing with every feature as near to scale as is possible in a coal fired, running locomotive."

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