Perfect miniature

“I will be exhibiting our scale model of Blair Atholl village and the railway northwards to Drumochter at the Perth Model Railway Club annual show on June 24 and 25,” says Ian McCreadie.

“My late father John was responsible for the construction of all buildings on the model and it was last shown in 2003.”

Holidays in the beauty spot of Blair Atholl have been the inspiration for many creative thoughts, but few can have put their vision into three dimensions, designing and making a perfect miniature replica of a village, its railway and hinterland, modelled with fine detail and absolute accuracy, so much so, that photographs of the layout itself have fooled even local people into thinking they are snaps of the real thing (see right!).

Small in scale in the literal sense it may be, but in ambition and conception, it’s definitely on the grand scale, at 32 feet in length, featuring many individual buildings, 200 figures and over 400 trees, apart from the fully functioning rail line, running trains and working signals.

What started out as an interesting project in the late 1980s is still going strong, with keen interest from audiences wherever the layout is shown.

The exhibition takes place at the Dewars Centre, Gover Street, Perth, from 10am until 5.30pm each day. Admission costs are – adult £7, child £3.50, family (two adults and two children) £16.

Could you tell that this is a model? Read more about the Blair Atholl village model on the left.