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BOOK EXTRACT
Everything began on the 24th of December at around 7pm. On that day Mr. Masson, the owner of a toy shop in Bonnetable (the Sarthe village where I was born) arrived in his grey car. Strapped tightly to the roof rack was a colourful board, 2m x 1.20m in size…
…The family arrives to celebrate Christmas. After chatting for a while by the fireside, we sit down for our meal…
…At around 7 o’clock I wake up and am stunned by what I see under the tree. The colourful board has been joined by lots of boxes wrapped in the same paper. Happy Christmas, Jean-Claude , announce my parents…
…My parents still tell the story today: you should have seen your eyes, they were shining with joy. That day saw the beginning of my passion for model railways. I don’t think it will end until they put me in a carriage bound for a station in heaven. Even there, I will probably build a network for carrying the angels! At night they will shine so brightly that people may mistake them for stars. The shooting star being the TGV of course….
…I took the time to read my magazines. For several weeks I drew plans which I erased one after another until I found the network I was happy with…
…At twelve years old I was already very manual and thanks to my father, who had a workbench and some excellent tools, I could do a lot of work. Once a month I went to the Rue de la Galère in Le Mans to visit Mr. Gaumont and in order to buy what I needed, but my budget was extremely limited!
…In 1985 we bought a house in Bayonne. Of course, before making the purchase, I made sure that there was a room suitable for building a railway. And so, in the 50m2 basement, the little Busquet train was born…
All of a sudden, I find myself deep in the Basque country near Saint-Jean Pied de Port, 60 Km from Bayonne. I am greeted as the Messiah by an extremely kind gentleman who must be 60 years old. He is passionate about trains and wants to build a railway in a 20m2 room. During our conversation I discover that he is from the Sarthe area and he managed a factory 30Km from Bonnetable; our bond becomes stronger…
…So much so that the little train of Saint-Jean Pied de Port is created in record time, less than 90 days. Nothing is missing and everything works. Mr. Blondel plays with his railway just like I did when I was 7 years old…
…In 1992 we move back to the Basque coast and buy a house in the BAB area; but only after checking that there is a room suitable for the construction of a railway. As soon as we take possession of the house, we begin some renovation work. This took up a whole year. However, part of the project was to insulate the room intended to house the future little train of La Heste…
…We are now in September 1994 when I reproduce the dimensions of the table on my computer. Over many weeks, I invent the route for the railway by using a specialised software package. Out of my imagination came the little train of La Heste…
I begin the construction of the mountain. Having positioned several entrances to the tunnel in the appropriate places, I position the wooden framework over the 4m2 reserved for the mountain scenery. An extraordinary number of wooden slats are intertwined, then fixed solidly to the table. My body weight is used as a test of strength…
…No more of Mrs. Blin’s papier maché. I purchase 10Kg bags of rendering cement and begin shaping the surfaces with a trowel…
…My intention is that the source will first appear at the highest summit before flowing between various peaks and then down into a lake through several waterfalls…
…The sky gives an authentic feel to the whole project and improves the effect of all the various scenes…
…I decide to install a hundred lampposts. Their role is to light up the eight platforms of La Heste station…
…I decide to take on the construction of a rack railway line which will link a high altitude station to one on the plain…
…”Your attention please” booms out of the loud speakers at Lamothe station. “Would all passengers travelling to Baigura please board now, the little train will depart at 12h12. This service will reach Baigura via Quintaou…
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