Lottery winner, 26, splashes out on Thomas the Tank Engine worth as much as a real-life train

A lottery winner spent money on Thomas the Tank Engine models to build a vehicle with as much transport value as a real train.

Neil Leighton, 26, won £1 million in the National Lottery in 2023 and has since spent £40,000 of it on collectibles from the fan-favourite children’s TV show.

Neil, a railway fanatic from Hereford, made his fortune playing Cash Bolt Christmas Millionaire just two days after downloading the National Lottery app.

After initially planning to buy a real full-size locomotive, he decided to invest in memorabilia from the Thomas the Tank Engine fair instead – a decision he called a ‘wise investment’.

The collection is now as valuable as a real-life train.

The superfan said: Mirror Although it wasn’t an ‘obvious choice’ for National Lottery Millionaire, he said he was very pleased with his purchase.

He said: ‘It’s not an obvious choice for a National Lottery millionaire but if winning is about making dreams come true, this has 100 per cent made my dream come true and I’m pretty sure of that. [my] Grandfather Bynon approves.’

‘These are not all trains,’ he added. ‘I’ve been able to take my family on amazing holidays and treat 14 friends to a wonderful five-star villa holiday, complete with yacht, and I have a beautiful home.’

Thomas the Tank Engine is a hugely popular 584-episode TV series based on The Railway Series books.

Neil said the collection ‘includes models of the carriages, the main hangars where the trains live and many of the buildings you see in the background of the series.’ Although some needed refurbishment, Neil said he was happy to bring them up to standard with the help of friends.

Scattered throughout his home are pictures of characters from the series, including the station controller from the show ‘Sir Topham Hat’.

When he won the lottery two years ago, Neil treated friends to a luxury holiday, as well as outfitting his four-bedroom home with his beloved train rig.

The 26-year-old has supported many train projects, including keeping alive the memory of Reverend W. Awdry, author of Thomas the Tank Engine.

Thomas the Tank Engine was based on The Railway Series books, first published in 1945, and was turned into a hugely popular TV show in the 1980s.

The series, about trains with human characteristics going on adventures on the imaginary island of Sodor, was broadcast for a total of 584 episodes.

Neil also volunteers on the original Talyllyn Railway in Wales, which is believed to have inspired the books.