The Madder Valley Railway: a Visitor’s Guide

The historic Madder Valley Railway, built by the late John Ahern, is a much-loved display at Pendon Museum. For the first time this year, the Museum has published a Visitor’s Guide solely devoted to this model.

Fresh research carried out by the MVR team at Pendon has revealed additional facts about the construction of this layout, enabling a number of previous misconceptions about its history to be corrected. The Guide includes an updated biographical note on John Ahern and traces the development of the model, including its restoration and rearrangement at Pendon Museum with the active encouragement of Gladys Ahern.

The Guide takes the visitor on a guided tour of the Madder Valley, describing the buildings portrayed in each of the towns and villages served by the MVR - Madderport, Much Madder, Gammon End and Gammon Magna, drawing attention to the many interesting details that John Ahern incorporated in his models, including the locomotives and other rolling stock that he built for the layout, as well as a variety of road vehicles that can be seen in the streets and lanes of the Madder Valley.

The Guide’s 40 pages are copiously illustrated with stunning colour photos by Andy York, Chris Nevard and other skilled photographers, and provides its readers with an excellent souvenir of their visits, both now and in the future, to the Madder Valley and its unique railway.

Text by Martin Goodall. Fully illustrated