A miniature world that's top of the class (From The Oxford Times)

A miniature world that's top of the class

9:40am Tuesday 3rd January 2012 in Wantage By Andy Mundin

Visitors dropped in at a miniature railway museum near Didcot to see a new display inspired by the novel Tom Brown’s Schooldays.

A display showing life in Uffington has now opened at Pendon Museum in Long Wittenham.

Volunteers at the museum saw the display at Tom Brown’s School Museum in Uffington near Wantage and asked to borrow it.

Chairman of Pendon Museum trustees Chris Massey said: “It shows the history of transport – road, rail and canals – in Uffington and is already popular with visitors.”

Among visitors on Saturday were Rob Anderson, from Cheltenham, and his son Joe Anderson, 12.

Tom Brown’s Schooldays was published in 1857 by Thomas Hughes and the first chapters feature the schoolboy’s early years in the Vale of White Horse.

Pendon Museum reopened on New Year’s Eve after a month of winter maintenance. Work on moving exhibits, including trains, was carried out so visitors could see a complete set of new trains upstairs.

Among the first visitors were Katie Rhymes, from Kidlington and her children Elena, seven, and Evan, five. She said: “They had a very good time. We haven’t been before.”

Another main exhibit is a miniature landscape representing a GWR branch line in Devon during the days of steam. For more information, visit pendonmuseum.com.