By Callum Wright
A Notts train enthusiast who built a fully working miniature railway in his back garden says part of his passion involves using the track to raise money for charity.
Jonathan Roe, an Openreach broadband engineer from Ollerton, started the project as a hobby during the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, he eventually realised it could become so much more.
His railway – which stretches the length of his back garden and took a year to build – features multiple trains, sidings and even an ‘engine shed’.
After initially opening up the railway to family and friends, Mr Roe decided to use his platform to conduct a charity event, and he hasn’t looked back since.
These events allow people to have a go at riding around on the trains – with shuttles allowing children to see his creation in all its glory.
“The first charity event I did was for the Rosie May Foundation in Bingham, then this year I had Paul’s Pit Stop, a local mental health charity and did a charity day for them,” he said.
“During a charity day I normally have classic cars on the front, coffee vans sometimes, stalls in the driveway and then we do shuttles all day [on the train] in the garden constantly for the kids to have a go on.
“You pay a little admission fee on the gate which goes the charity and all the rest is free; I’m not doing it for profit, if I can open it up once a year for a specific charity and make a little bit of money it’s perfect for them.”
Mr Roe has also opened the station outside normal operating hours to help accommodate autistic and neurodivergent children.
He said: “I have a lot of autistic children who come around and they absolutely love it.
“I’ve had occasions where parents have asked to come out of the opening hours and I’ve said it’s fine. If they want their own one-to-one time with the trains and have a go, then that’s fine.”
More charity events are planned in the future, and in the meantime, Mr Roe has been undertaking a more personal project with the railway.
“I’ve got a steam engine that’s been donated to me from a friend’s family after my friend passed away recently, so that’s my next project,” he said.
He adds that, despite fixing people’s internet connections for a living, there aren’t any connections needed for his railway journeys.
And he hopes to one day even extend the line into the unused land behind his garden.
