August 27, 2009
A model railway being built by Top Gear presenter James May with the intentions of it breaking the world record for length has been attacked by vandals.
Thieves stole parts of the track and short-circuited the engine on the model railway, which was a collaborative effort between 400 people to make it stretch the ten miles between Barnstaple and Bideford in north Devon.
While the attacks did not stop the completion of the track, it was found that the model railway was three miles short of the current Guinness World Record holder due to a mechanical failure.
Simon Kohler, from model railway manufacturer Hornby, said: "We had spoilsports who stole parts of the track and at one point someone used two pence coins to create problems and blow the train´s battery, but we refused to let it ruin things. It´s sad, but it was a really brave effort."
The City of Oxford Society of Model Engineers club recently relocated the headquarters of its railway team from Cutteslowe Park to a new building in the region, the Oxford Mail reported.
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