A PAINSTAKINGLY detailed model of London’s Kings Cross railway station will go on show at Frampton Mansell’s village hall thanks to the dedication of a couple from the village.

Paul and Pepita Walker have spent 25 years perfecting their replica of the station as it was in the late 1950s when steam trains were still in operation.

The model has around 80 switches and is so complicated that it requires three operators at time as there is no automation involved.

Paul, 83, said that his love of trains started during the war when he saw troops being moved by train and spoke to soldiers who were stationed near his home in Essex.

He said: “On VE night I managed to escape and travel to Kings Cross then on to Edinburgh during the night and came back the next day.

“There were bonfires all the way along from London to Edinburgh.”

Despite his love of trains Paul became an insurance salesman and spent most of his life in that field, meeting his wife Pepita.

Pepita, 79, was a research physicist but has had a number of other jobs along the way, taking time off when she had her three children.

While Paul has handled much of the modelling of the track and the layout Pepita has contributed more of the scenic side of the model, including tiny animals across three displays.

When the pair’s children had all moved out in 1990 Paul began dreaming up his scale model of Kings Cross, which eventually grew to include two other boards and now takes up an entire room on the first floor of their house.

Paul could not say how long he had spent working on the model and Pepita joked that she would dread to think of how long they had spent on it.

Paul added: “It’s very difficult to know, but it has been a great hobby and is very relaxing.”

Their amazing model will be on display at Frampton Mansell Village Hall on May 16 and 17 from 10am to 4pm. Entrance will be £3 for adults and under 18s free.

Three generations of the Walker family will be operating the display, with Naomi, 21 being the youngest and Paul taking the honour of oldest conductor.

All proceeds will go towards Railway Children, a charity which helps children who run away from home because of poverty, abuse or neglect in the UK, India and East Africa.