Thieves derail park’s model train
THOUSANDS of angry Maidstone residents have blasted thieves who stole track from the popular Mote Park railway. Volunteers from Maidstone Model Engi- neering Society, which runs the attraction, were appalled to discover thieves had stolen more than 120ft of aluminium track just weeks before the school summer holidays. However, MMES spokesman Sue Parham
said members were “overwhelmed and touched” by the support shown bymembers of the public in person, via email and on the group’s Facebook page. She said data from Facebook showed the group’s post an- nouncing the theft had been shared by 48,000 people in two days, and more than 200 people had left comments showing sup- port for the railway. Ms Parham said: “Members of the club
were horrified to discover over 120 feet of our railway track in Mote Park had been ripped up and stolen.We have three rails on our track as we have two gauges of locomo- tives – 3 1/2” and 5”. Two of the rails were stolen, being 120 feet each, so the actual rail loss is 240 feet. “The metal is aluminium and its scrap
value is negligible. It will, however, cost us time and trouble, several hundred pounds worth of materials, plus lost income. “We will only be able to run a restricted service over the next few Sundays, which means not so many children and families will get rides, which is such a shame when they love it so much. “The members are working hard to get us
up and running again fully within three to four weeks, however, the track laying is quite specialised work and only a few can
work on it at one time.” Some supporters suggested the railway set
up a website page for people to give dona- tions, butMs Parham said they did notwant to make a profit from the “kind souls” who donated. Police visited the railway on the first Sun-
day after the theft. Investigating officer PC Jamie Botting said: “Quite a substantial
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amount of aluminium was taken from the track, and it’s disappointing that an attrac- tion that brings visitors to Maidstone has been damaged in this way. “If anyone has any information I would
urge them to contact Kent Police so we can investigate further.” Call Kent Police on 101, quoting crime reference YY/11429/13.
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