a day ago
See the incredible discovery underneath newly bought home in Melbourne's northern suburbs
When Daniel Xu and his wife finalised the purchase of their new home in Melbourne's northern suburbs, he couldn't imagine the astonishing discovery hidden in the property's basement.
Underneath the brick home, through a small hatch on the side, was a sprawling model train network dating back to the 1960s.
The model, with an extensive number of railway lines and detailed miniature landscapes, was unearthed after Mr Xu entered the undercroft with plans to renovate.
'To do the renovation, I would have to go downstairs to have a look and do some inspections and when I got down I saw this massive incredible train model just sitting there,' he said.
'I was shocked and I immediately asked my wife to come down to have a look - she was shocked.
'It's unbelievable, so massive, so huge.'
Mr Xu, who told SBS News there had been no mention of the elaborate setup during the open home inspections, got in touch with the previous owner to find out the history.
He was told the model trains were built by the previous owner's father some 60 years ago when they were a child, and had not been used for a while.
Coincidentally, Mr Xu is a train enthusiast himself.
The hobbyist plans to upgrade the separate control desks - which operate each of the different zones of the train tracks - with something more modern and test what still works.
'I have to clean everything and do some continuity tests on the rails to make sure the power is good,' he said.
'After that, I would like to upgrade some controllers, because now the technology is (a lot more) advanced.
'My friends kids come and play, they don't want to leave, they spend the whole afternoon here although there is no power at all (connected to it).'
