Dorah the globetrotting model locomotive has spent the past three years travelling the world and is now visiting a rail enthusiast in Redwood Valley.
German-born Juergen Sparrer grew up with Märklin model railways, so relished the opportunity to host Dorah and add another country to her travels.
The 1:87 scale model railway steam engine left its home in France in 2021 and has since been posted to enthusiasts in places around the globe including Europe, South Africa, Argentina and now New Zealand.
Juergen says it is simply a fun thing to do for model railway enthusiasts and Dorah even has her own Facebook page where followers can track her travels. He suspects she is probably the most-travelled locomotive that has been documented – because her travel book goes with her as she is posted from country to country.
“We had a glass of champagne and took a photo for the Facebook page to show Dorah has arrived in New Zealand and been welcomed with French champagne.”
As a child, Juergen grew up next to a rail viaduct, his father was a railway executive and the family did not own a car because they could travel anywhere by train with an 80 percent discount. So trains have always been an integral part of his life. Added to that was the precious early Märklin model railways and when Juergen emigrated to New Zealand, he filled a room with his Märklin models and railway layout.
When he eventually sold the collection, it paid for a luxury train trip across India.
But the sale did not curb his interest and now he restores Märklin models from the 1950s and 1960s for other collectors.
Though there are numerous collectors around the world, he says there are few restorers, which makes him a bit of a rarity.
He carries out complete mechanical and electrical repairs on models that are so sought after that even the original box and instructions are valuable.
He still retains his own collection of model engines – albeit on a smaller scale than in the past and not necessarily the highly-prized early models – which will keep Dorah company during her New Zealand visit. In some countries, her hosts have given her a run on a track layout if there is one available and according to her travel log, she has even been to the beach.
Juergen plans to host Dorah until February and then hopefully post her to a new host in the North Island.
