Lego city and trains built by Junee Wishart family for the Wagga model railway exhibition

Made up of 22 buildings, 17 vehicle variations and 10 train combinations, the ensemble is the culmination of about three years work for Blaer and Shaun Wishart, and their three children.

It took a further five hours to assemble the pre-built sets for active display at the model railway exhibition in Wagga on Saturday.

“Having a personal collection is one thing, but being able to display it for others like this is another thing altogether,” said Mr Wishart, who has become the driving force behind the family’s building passion.

“Getting to see others interact with it is pretty special.”

This was the 19^th annual railway exhibition in Wagga, and the third time the Wisharts had made the 80 kilometre round trip to be there.

To be present at Saturday’s event, some of the other exhibitors had travelled upwards of a thousand kilometres.

But the Junee family savoured the honour of being among the favourites for all ages.

Their tabletop display combined fantasy, fiction and the real, with elements from the Disney and Doctor Who universe.

Towards the back right corner of the display, a foreboding haunted castle periodically spewed a foggy mist, to give that section its chilling feeling. 

But for Mrs Wishart, the display’s pride point was one particular custom built train.

“The Ghan is absolutely my favourite. I said to Shaun when he first started, ‘if you’re going to make trains, you have to make The Ghan’, and he did,” Mrs Wishart said.