John Stephens' Railways of Japan

[VJM]

Many of you would have seen my layout here. My good friend John Stephens had his layout built not long after mine, as the literal and figurative "big brother" to my own.  It measures approximately 5m x 2.8m.

 

Unfortunately, by the time this enormous layout was finished, John's failing health meant that he was unable to really spend a lot of time running it.  We'd like to think that he did get a lot of enjoyment shopping for all the items and track that went into the construction.  Sadly, John passed away earlier this year, aged 81.

 

 

[cteno4]

So very sorry to hear about this. Very sad he was not able to enjoy the layout much once done, but I’m sure all the planning and purchasing was fun for him and I hope he at least got to see the final creation. Does it disassemble? I hope it can live on with someone here, it’s a beautiful layout.

 

My condolences,

 

jeff

[Sir Madog]

A sad story indeed, but I still think the layout gave him much joy and entertainment for quite a long time. I do hope the layout has a chance to survive!

[VJM]

The family is open to offers on the layout (even small offers, as they understand shipping will be very costly unless they are local to Melbourne, Australia), otherwise it will be dismantled.  It splits into 4 sections, so it's not totally immovable.

 

[JR East]

It's really a very nice layout. It's look very detailed and I really find it beautiful. I'm sure he's spent a lot of time on it. Sad to see he passed away.