John Ryan’s Express focuses on model railway owned by Over Peover resident

John lives in Over Peover, and the book, John Ryan’s Express, focuses on the incredibly detailed O Gauge railway, one of the UK’s biggest, which John owns and built.

John is better known for his business empires in cosmetic surgery and being chairman of Doncaster Rovers Football Club.

However behind the scenes he was building a tribute to one of his greatest loves – the railways.

The full colour-illustrated, 176-page hardback book has been written by Peter Tuffrey and John, and is published by Great Northern Books on March 31.

Part of John's layout

John Ryan’s model railway is a story of continual development.

He first became interested in model railways at the age of five when his father took him to see A4s, A2s and A1s hurtling through Doncaster railway station on the East Coast Main Line.

At Christmas 1955 he acquired his first train set, a Hornby-Dublo three-rail ‘Duchess of Montrose’.

Other train sets were acquired and layouts constructed - all OO gauge - until the fascination for O gauge took control.

This was in the early 1980s and when, a little later, success and finances became available, all his OO gauge locomotives and rolling stock were sold or swapped for O gauge models and he began constructing one of the largest layouts of its type in the country.

Part of John's layout

The switch to O gauge coincided with his teaming up with Norman Solomon, an expert track-builder, who has been involved in the various stages of John’s present enormous layout.

Other people have supplied stations, goods sheds, coal hoppers and viaducts.

John runs models of the locomotives he saw whilst a youngster in Doncaster during the 1950s.

He also has a keen interest in the LNER locomotives built at Doncaster so the layout can be operated in two periods, 1930s and 1950s.

Carriages and wagons also fall into these two periods. Some of John’s most impressive carriages include the ‘Silver Jubilee’, ‘Coronation’ and Pullman sets.

Part of John's layout

Text within the book follows the development of model railways in Britain, Doncaster Plant Works’ association with locomotive, carriage and wagon building, John’s various railway layouts, as well as touching upon his business interests.

From 1978 to 2002 John owned the Transform Medical Group, and between 1998 and 2015 was chairman of Doncaster Rovers FC.