Tetleys Mills

Builder: Dave Shakespeare Issues it appeared in: MR1 Autumn 1997, MR9 July 1999, MR40 February 2002, MR54 April 2003, MR142 April 2010 Chosen by: Ben Jones, MR editor 2008-2014

We featured the late Dave Shakespeare’s Yorkshire masterpiece on several occasions in my 13 years working on Model Rail, partly because he kept making changes to it (some by choice, some enforced by woodworm!) but also because it was just so good. Dave was the first to say that his aim was to recreate an atmosphere, rather than a rivet‑ perfect replica of 1950s West Yorkshire, and he achieved that gritty, grimy feel of a Pennine industrial town perfectly. Also, with its typical West Riding mix of Eastern and London Midland Region trains, steam and early diesels, passenger, goods and parcels trains, all delivered with an eye for local period detail and a sense of humour, it had something for almost everyone. Featured in MR1, it appeared again on several occasions and was always hugely popular with staff and readers, thanks to Dave’s entertaining tales and the wonderful images taken by the likes of Martyn Barnwell and Chris Nevard. Modest to a fault, Dave was nevertheless a very talented and imaginative modeller and his passing in 2014 was a real loss to the hobby.