Modelling Lives
Tales from the miniature world. GBRF driver Matt Turner started building a layout, but ended up owning a successful firm selling a range of modern signalling equipment…
Matt Turner started with a small layout, but ended up owning a successful firm selling modern signalling equipment.
My parents funded a small train set, but I didn’t take it too seriously – I once burned out the motor of a Class 08 by running it into a pile of uncooked rice
We all get asked about the spark that ignited our interest in model railways. For me it was my parents, with one of my earliest memories being of a trip to the superb Bekonscot Model Village in Buckinghamshire. I can still recall the loving but stern tone of my mother as she warned “No, no, no, Matthew, don’t touch”, as my ice cream-covered fingers reached for a passing train. My parents also funded a small train set but I didn’t take it too seriously – I once burned out the motor of a Class 08 by running it into a pile of uncooked rice. This, I can only assume, was placed on the tracks in an attempt to recreate an episode of
Thomas the Tank Engine.
Fast forward a few years and I joined the railway, straight after my 18th birthday, as a platform assistant at Dorking. This was quickly followed by a position as a depot driver/shunter at Wimbledon before progressing onto my main line career at Woking. Although I had already driven a locomotive – albeit confined to a yard – I can still recall my trepidation as I took power for the first time, leaving Waterloo’s Platform 1 just two weeks after my 21st birthday. It was during my time at Woking that Bachmann brought out the ‘4-CEP’. I hadn’t been interested in models since those ‘rice-ramming’ days but, as a Southern Region driver who was born too late for the slam door units, it really appealed to me to turn back the clock. Furthermore, I had the precious opportunity to pick the brains of all my senior colleagues. After setting about building my first layout, I naturally required some signals. Impressed by the craftsmanship of Roger Murray’s colour light signals, I soon returned for another batch. When Roger informed me that he was looking to sell his business, along with one-to-one training, I had virtually bought the company by the end of the phone call, and I was already coming up with ideas for expanding the range. Subsequently, Absolute Aspects was formed in 2011 and has gone from strength to strength. We have expanded on Roger’s designs, using up-to-date technology and manufacturing processes, while retaining his renowned hand-crafted detail. We’ve also worked hard to develop our modern multi-aspect range (with accurate colour representation) and our new Banner Repeaters, all alongside our famous colour light signals and bespoke gantries. Alas, an inevitable consequence of ensuring Absolute Aspects’ success is that my original layout never came to fruition. I have, however, been very lucky with what I call ‘the railway butterfly effect’, ending up with a successful railway career and a booming business that supplies hobbyists around the globe. With 11 years of working on the ‘big’ railway under my belt, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience everything from driving heavy freight trains to Pullman services, as well as testing the ultra-modern Intercity Express Project Class 800s, as part of GBRF’S newly formed link of Rail Services drivers. Now even the industry itself is getting involved. We’ve received commissions for retirement presents, project demonstrations and training layouts for the next generation of railway staff. We’ve also been asked to produce a commemorative gift for the Duke of Gloucester’s visit to a signalling firm’s HQ. An important factor in the success of Absolute Aspects is based on the re-creation of fully working signals, using the knowledge that I’ve gathered through my driver’s eye. And yet it all started from the humblest of beginnings on that childhood outing with my parents.