Railway shop's Christmas billing following James May record attempt (From This is The West Country)

Railway shop's Christmas billing following James May record attempt

12:10pm Friday 11th December 2009

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A POPULAR model railway shop near Chard will be hitting our television screens this Christmas after being featured on a show fronted by Top Gear presenter James May.

Buffers Model Railways, at Colston Cross, will appear in an episode of James May’s Toy Stories, due to be aired on Christmas Day.

The programme, which celebrates Britain’s best-loved toys, follows a team of enthusiasts from the shop as they attempt to break the record for the world’s longest model railway.

BBC producers tracked down Buffers’ owner Maria Husson earlier this year and asked her if she wanted to take part in the challenge.

She said: “At first I thought it was joke but then I found out James May was doing a whole series on classic toys.

“Model railways have this image of being stuffy and boring, I wanted to prove that isn’t the case at all.”

Over 40 helpers worked throughout the day laying a ten-mile track between Barnstaple and Bideford on August 24.

Maria said: “We didn't quite make it but we managed around seven miles and finished at 1am after a 6am start.

“We had a heck of a laugh, the producer said he could have done a series on what we got up to.”

The Buffers team plan to give the record attempt another shot next summer, with some 250 volunteers already on board.

And the shop gained its first celebrity fan after impressing Mr May.

“James is a such a rail enthusiast, he was genuinely interested in what we were doing,” Maria said.

“He’s one of our customers now – he even has a loyalty card!"

The programme will be shown at 7pm on BBC2 on Friday, December 25.

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