Tam's trains fly off the shelves

Published on 17/09/2007 12:05

FOR a lifetime rail enthusiast it is the ultimate tribute. Hornby created a special model train in memory of Edinburgh's famous One O'Clock gunner - Tam the Gun.

And every one of the 99 limited edition sets has been sold, with a percentage of the proceeds going to a cancer charity.

City toy shop owner Bob Baird persuaded the model-making giant to produce the train dedicated to his friend, Staff Sergeant Thomas McKay.

GNER has already named one of its Edinburgh to London locomotives after Tam, who was a lifetime rail enthusiast and model train collector.

Mr Baird, from North Berwick, who manages Harburn Hobbies on Elm Row, came up with the idea for the foot-long model of the Mallard train with Tam's name on the side.

He said: "Tam always wanted a train for himself. He used to work on the railways as a steward in the restaurant cars before he joined the Army.

"He was always a model railway enthusiast and he was a friend and a customer since the mid-70s.

"Tam had been talking to GNER for a couple of years. They named the train just ten days after he died. I had the contacts with Hornby, so I asked them about a model train. We thought it would be a very appropriate way of remembering him."

Mr Baird has sold 50 of the train sets himself, raising 500 for Bowel Cancer UK.

The remaining 450 have been sold by toy shops throughout the country and on the internet. Mr Baird, 60, said: "I think they have been so popular because of the man himself. So many people knew Tam.

"He was such a lovely man, so warm and affectionate. He was so inspirational and enthusiastic. The youngsters in the shop would always shout enthusiastically: 'Tam's in!' The stories he had. You could stand and chat for ages."

Mr McKay was the longest-serving district gunner since the firing of the One O'Clock Gun began in 1861. He died in November 2005, after a battle with bowel cancer.

His widow Joyce said she had told him about the train before he died. She said: "Tam would have been thrilled that people wanted to have them.

"He worked on the railways and had a great interest in model trains. It's very appropriate.

"I've got a train set myself. Hornby made it and presented it to me with a certificate of authenticity. I know friends in America and Norway who have them."

She said Mr McKay's six grandsons, who live in Edinburgh, all had their own train sets.

The district gunner was a popular figure with visitors to Edinburgh Castle, where he often led guided tours and shared stories. He even published a book of anecdotes about his job.

He was made an MBE in 1999 for his services to the Territorial Army.

Mrs McKay unveiled a cannon dedicated to his memory in Bergen, Norway, earlier this year, where the couple had many friends and celebrated their wedding.