Gateshead Boy Creates Metro Train Model, Meets Driver During Special Trip

A five-year-old from Gateshead has brought his dream of becoming a Metro driver to life by creating a detailed scale model of one of the network’s new trains.

James Whitfield, who has loved riding the Metro since he was very young, even took his model on a Metro-themed adventure with his parents, including a trip on one of the real Stadler trains.

His mother, Rebecca, 38, helped James build the replica, using cardboard and super glue to create the main shape before carefully painting it in the correct shade of yellow to match the new Metro trains. The model, named St James after her son, was finished with straps so James could wear it while exploring the network.

Rebecca said:

"James is always playing with his trains and he loves the Metro, going on it with his nana and granda since he was really little. A few years ago I made him a fire engine and we went to the station and got pictures, and he kept asking us to make a new Metro train. When we got down to making it, we got cardboard boxes and a super glue gun and made the main shape. We then had to get the correct coloured yellow paint because James was insisting that he wanted the model to be of one of the new Metro trains. He made sure that everything was accurate, and his attention to detail was spot on with all of the little bits we added. We put St James on it with that being his name, and attached straps so James could wear it out, and then in mid-November, we headed to get on a Metro with it.”

During a trip to Newcastle International Airport to photograph the model in action, Nexus staff noticed the pair from the control room, allowing James to meet one of the Metro drivers.

Rebecca added:

"We were told that the staff had seen us on our journey with the Metro model from the control room, and it was great that they took the time to make the whole day really special for James, I couldn't have been happier with how it went. They also sent out a keyring and a magnet for him to keep, as a thank you for us going out of our way to do this. James goes to Oakfield Primary School, and he has been excitedly telling all of the other kids about what happened ever since, he thoroughly enjoyed himself.”

Image: Nexus