A train -mad dad spent six years and thousands of pounds building a half-mile long light railway track in his back garden.
Robert Holland, 64, painstakingly worked to create the line, which features a 100ft long tunnel, an engine shed and a turntable.
The funeral director’s obsession with locomotives began when he was a child growing up in Lincolnshire.
He moved on to model-making before finally creating his own life-size version in his back garden.
The Ropsley Heath Light Railway can now transport up to 24 people around his five acre land at 8mph.
Dad-of-one Robert, from Ropsley Heath, Lincs, said: “I’ve always said a family house is not a family house without a train set.
“It has taken a lot of hard work but I’m very happy with how it’s all turned out.
“My partner Wendy has been very supportive and understanding. She says it’s bonkers but she loves it.
“It has been six years in the making. It’s amazing to look back and think that at the start all there was were some railway gates.
“As a boy I was always fascinated by railways and general model making. And now here I am with my own railway track in my back garden.
“I don’t know what it’s cost but it has run into thousands. I couldn’t estimate how much it’s worth either but it’s priceless to me.”
Robert and a team of volunteers used 900 tonnes of granite to lay the 800m-long track.
The railway is not open to the public but can be used by charities or for private events.
It was officially opened last week by Toby Dennis, the Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire.
He said: “Robert is wonderful in his support of all sorts of things in the county.”
