James Peel Richards (1902-1999) began making models in 1944 and was still actively building until shortly before his death. His exceptional skill was matched by his encyclopaedic knowledge of the London & North Western Railway, and his prodigious output represents vehicles running on the LNWR network between 1902 and 1923. The collection still holds the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of model railway vehicles made by a single person.

"JPR" bequeathed his collection to the National Railway Museum, and this extraordinary bequest is testimony to the life's work of a unique man.