When most homeowners move into a new property, they expect to find a few bits and bobs left behind, perhaps a few appliances or old cleaning supplies. But most people wouldn’t expect to find a giant 150m railway track buried under their new back garden.
Lorraine Grundy discovered just that after moving into her four-bedroom detached house in Derbyshire in November, and found more and more tracks as she cleared the back yard. He’s now on a mission to get the track back up and running and has amassed over 13,000 followers on TikTok who want to see his dream come true.
Lauren told Yahoo News UK: “We’ve found about 150-200 meters, probably, and it could be more because there’s a lot of double lines that you just can’t see at the moment.
“I’m totally new to all this, I have no idea what I’m doing but I’m dabbling in it, but the people on TikTok are full of so much helpful information.”
Lauren had been aware of at least one section of the railroad since she and her husband, Sean, came to look at the property, but most of it was covered by huge brush at the time, and she had no idea how much lay there. the garden.
“I’m still discovering more, I’ll find tracks buried in the mud,” he says.
“I think because the garden is full of trees and because it hasn’t been maintained for so long, the leaves are falling off and composting and getting a little deeper every year.
“Looks like I’m digging it. Every time I find more and think the trail might be missing, I find it in the mud.”
When Lorraine and Sean, both 35, moved from a residential estate in Derby to their new home near the village of Morley, they had a lot of work to do both in the house and in the garden.
The previous owner, a model train enthusiast named Frank Hammersley, was an elderly man who lived alone after losing his wife and child, meaning the property was under-maintained until he died in his nineties.
Lauren thinks of ways to pay tribute to Frank once he’s restored to his former glory, such as a station or train named after him.
“I’d love to see what it looked like once upon a time. People say they’ve seen it working on TV, but I’ve been looking for footage and haven’t found it yet.”
It’s still pretty early days for Lorraine, who has been carefully cleaning the tracks using a dustpan and brush and a leaf blower, claiming the pressure washer can blow some sections of the railway through the garden.
“I joke in my videos that it’s like doing an archaeological dig because you’re so careful not to damage anything when you uncover it,” he adds.
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Before moving into her new home, Lauren wasn’t particularly into model trains compared to Sean, who works as an engineer.
“The train line is what sold this house for my husband. He thought “this is it” as soon as he saw it. He never actually built a model train, but always wanted to. He likes his model cars and stuff like that.”
After moving in, Sean agreed to focus on restoring the house while Lauren worked on the garden, allowing her newfound enthusiasm for model railroads to blossom.
“I’m sitting there after 20 years waiting for a train to bring me another drink,” adds Lorraine, who stays at home to look after her two children.
Lauren’s three-year-old son is already having fun playing with his Hot Wheels on the tracks, and she thinks her 16-year-old son, who is autistic and non-verbal, will be “so excited” when the train arrives. get up and running.
Several sections of the track appear to be missing for reasons unknown, meaning Lauren and Sean could spend around £60 per meter to replace those sections.
For cheaper battery-powered trains, they intend to buy mini-steam trains for the railway, which could cost upwards of £1,000.
Lauren received some helpful pointers from the staff at her local model shop and from many model train enthusiasts online.
A hobbyist with a fully operational model railway in his garden, whom Lauren had contacted online, offered some words of encouragement, telling her, know it.’
Lauren adds: “I have suggested to people online to send a train to build a bridge where there is no bridge. It’s incredible and so beautiful, so I’ll definitely deal with them if they’re willing to help with that. “.
As for the actual physical work, however, Lauren is quite content to do most of it herself, with a little help from some friends who have offered to help.
While the response to her project online has been “overwhelming” and mostly positive, Lauren says there have been some “disappointing” comments, with some calling the tracks and “eyeballs” saying she should “rip it off”.
“It makes me want to do it more, to be honest,” he says. “This guy has put his heart and soul into it and it would be a shame if he doesn’t run again.”