By Brian Ing and Simon Payne

Life for villagers was transformed when the railway arrived in Histon in 1847. Chivers Jam Factory developed and provided a major source of employment which in turn led the village to expand. The talk describes how a model railway exhibition layout of the Jam Factory area and the station was purchased by the Feast Committee and, with the help of a small group of local enthusiasts, a larger and more accurate model of the Railway Station was created. The layout seeks to entertain visitors by bringing the past to life for younger people and to provide some welcome nostalgia for everyone else.

SPEAKERS

Brian Ing

Growing up in a village with the Southern Region Carriage Works and a grandfather who worked for the railway, I have always been interested in railways. Hence, I was delighted to be able to be involved from the start with the local model rail group, especially as it builds on what has made these villages so wonderful to be part of: villages which I moved into over 47 years ago and within which I have been more closely involved in my so far twenty years of retirement.

Simon Payne

Simon is a founding member and chair of the Histon and Impington Model Rail Group. He has lived in Histon for over 20 years and he has been a railway modeller for nearly 60 years in both the UK and Germany. Simon is a town planner at both 1:76 scale and in real life at 1:1 scale!By