Bo’ness model railway suffers arson attack

According to the club, "Two people broke into our coaches and started a fire, heavily damaging the interior of the fiddleyard coach and causing smoke damage to the viewing coach. Much of the rolling stock was either damaged or stolen, along with countless other items.
Naturally, we are all absolutely devastated. The layout has done nothing but bring joy to us members and the public for many years, and it hurts to see it in this state."

Police Scotland Forth Valley has issued a statement, "We are appealing for information following a break-in and deliberate fire in Boness.
Around 7am on Sunday, 19 May, we received a report two train carriages had been broken into in a railway yard on Union Street, Boness. A small fire was also extinguished by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service within.

"Inspector David Black said: “Our enquiries are ongoing to trace those responsible. The carriages are maintained by a team including many volunteers who work tirelessly to keep these carriages running and are a popular tourist attraction.

“We are appealing to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area of the railway yard, particularly around 2am, where it's been reported two men were acting suspiciously in the area.

"The first man is described aged late twenties to early forties, large build, between 5ft 8 and 6 ft tall, clean shaven.  He was wearing dark glasses, baseball cap, dark top and bottoms, dark New Balance trainers and was carrying a shoulder bag that was worn across his body.
The second man is described as white, aged late twenties to early forties, slim build, 5ft 8 to 6ft tall and clean shaven.  He was wearing a dark jacket, dark shoulder bag on one shoulder, dark hat with white writing, dark joggers, grey trainers and no gloves.

"If you saw the anything significant around this location then please get in touch.

“We are also asking people to check their private CCTV and dash-cams to see if there is footage that could assist with our enquiries.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 1043 of Sunday, 19 May, 2024, or make a call anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."

A Justgiving Page has been set up for people to donate towards the costs of restoring the model.