The Model Train Nut
is Richard Havenga – aka Crewbus01
is Richard Havenga – aka Crewbus01
An avid model railroader with an interest in aviation, motorcycles and computers. I was born in Johannesburg, raised in East London in the Eastern Cape and educated at Selborne College. I’ve worked for the national airline and several international companies as a project manager and later as software development manager before spending nearly 3 years as General Manager for a packaging company in the East Rand.
Having started model railroading at 16, with a break for family and career in between, I’m actively involved in the hobby, having created 6 modules, some even with my family’s help! These modules can be seen as part of the exhibitions undertaken yearly by the N Gauge Guild of South Africa, one of the country’s premier model railway clubs.
I served on the N Gauge Guild’s committee for nearly 10 years and assisted with the highly successful 20th Anniversary celebration, “The Great Model Train Expo” in 2014 but stepped down in 2016 to focus on other projects.
Of course my fascination with the hobby continued and in 2016 and 2018 I again assisted as co-convenor with the highly successful “The Great Model Train Expo” and look forward to making it all happen again one day as this event has been postponed for some time to the Covid-19 outbreak of 2020.
In between all of this I’ve managed to complete two extensions to the desert modules and a revamp of a corner module previously known as Area 53. My own home layout was completed only to be dismantled after the flaws were exposed and I decided I could do better. My dear long-suffering spouse has had to contend with long bouts of planning, loads of construction debris, amendments on the fly and without her help and support I’d probably have battled on forever with some of the small fiddly bits.
The hobby is all about patience and being creative and is the most relaxing of all my activities – except for reading and brewing my own beer and cider.
Thank you for reading about my hobby, take care!