That’s a bit steep! Engineer, 54, spends 18 years and £15,000 building a RAILWAY to his hillside house so he and his wife won’t have to climb 50ft steps when they get older
- Allan Pyne, 54, lives with his wife Rachel in a hillside home in Dawlish, Devon
- He has devised a track to ensure they do not have to tackle big climb in future
- The railway signal engineer started work on the mechanism back in 2002
An engineer has spent 18 years and £15,000 building a railway to his hillside house so that he and his wife won’t have to climb 50ft steps when they grow older.
Allan Pyne, 54, lives with his wife Rachel in Dawlish, Devon, and has worked on the railways for more than 30 years.
He has devised a track to ensure they do not have the difficulties of having to tackle a big climb of steps to the front door in the future.
Engineer Allan Pyne, 54, has spent 18 years and £15,000 building a railway to his hillside house
He lives with his wife Rachel in Dawlish, Devon, and has worked on railways for over 30 years
‘We’ve lived here for 20 years and people tend to leave the street because they can’t manage the steps to their homes because they’re too steep,’ My Pyne said.
‘We’ve got a lovely spot with a view of the sea and it’s too nice to sell up and move.
‘I wanted to come up with a solution so I started digging.’
Mr Pyne revealed that he moved 150 tonnes worth of soil to make way for the track, carriage and winch, which is all operated by a remote control.
The railway signal engineer started work on the mechanism back in 2002 and it set the pair back around £15,000 – mainly through skip hire.
‘We had steps and I dug out the garden so there was a gradual incline, so that I could lay a track,’ Mr Pyne added.
Mr Pyne revealed that he moved 150 tonnes worth of soil to make way for the device
‘The track is now two feet wide and there’s a truck, like an old miners truck but without the bucket on top.
‘Now me and my wife can get on this track and get winched to the top, by clicking “up” on the remote control – it’s like a TV remote.’
Despite almost two decades of work the innovative tool still needs the finishing touches added.
The railway signal engineer, pictured with his shed, started work on mechanism back in 2002
‘It’s not quite finished, we’ve still got things to do. It will be another year until it’s completed, but it is functional,’ Mr Pyne said.
‘I’m an engineer and did it all myself, but I’m not a civil engineer – I work on signals.
‘Over 30 years in the industry I have picked up lots of skills by watching my colleagues work, so I just gave it a go.
‘My wife thought I was mad at the beginning but now she gets on with the shipping and gets winched to the top, so she’s on board now. It will be more and more useful in years to come.’