A model railway company is to make a donation towards repair work for the Severn Valley Railway’s recent landslip, through sales of a very special set of model figurines, based on some of the railway’s volunteers.

Modelu, based in Chipping Sodbury, has created a set of eight figurines that accurately depict individual SVR volunteers, in a variety of railway roles, including footplate crew, signalman and inspector. The company has used its specially developed 3D scanner to capture the likenesses of the volunteers.

Modelu’s owner Alan Buttler explained more:

‘We want to create figures that are incredibly accurate, down to the last detail. Working with real life volunteers means that we can get poses that are authentic and realistic. Our bodyscanner has a rig of 105 separate cameras, and can capture a pose in a fraction of a second.

‘When we heard about the SVR’s landslip and realised how much it’s going to impact the railway, it gave us an idea. We wanted to give something back to the line, in recognition of the time and support its volunteers have given us to help us develop our business.’

Welcoming the news, the SVR’s managing director Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster said:

‘This is a wonderful show of support from Modelu, and we’re so grateful to the company for doing this. The figurine sets really are astonishingly accurate and it’s great to see our own recognisable volunteers portrayed in action!’

Modelu is donating 50% of the sales price for each set of figurines that it sells. Sets are available in a range of scales, including N, O and OO, from modelu3d.co.uk , with prices starting at £24.95.

The Severn Valley Railway continues to work towards finding a remedy for the landslip, which occurred at the end of January, between its stations at Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade. Although the northernmost section of the line is currently closed because of the landslip, the rest of the SVR is open to the public, operating on the 12-mile stretch between Kidderminster and Hampton Loade, which is operating as usual.

Although Bridgnorth station is cut off from the rest of the line, its award-winning pub the Railwayma’s Arms is open as usual, along with the station’s refreshment rooms. On selected weekends, there are short footplate rides on one of the SVR’s steam locomotives. These can be booked online at svr.co.uk.