Oscar winner Sir Richard Taylor train enthusiast

Academy Award winner Sir Richard Taylor was among the hundreds of miniature train enthusiasts who have flocked to the Steam Up North International Convention in Whangarei.

Preferring to be known without the honorific "Sir", Mr Taylor is one of many miniature train enthusiasts who have been drawn to Maunu's Heritage Park for a weekend of model engineering heaven.

Knighted for his work with Weta Workshops, which he co-directs with film-maker Sir Peter Jackson, Mr Taylor is the creative genius credited for creating the special effects on a host of blockbuster movies, most notably The Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong and Avatar.

Mr Taylor was won over to the hobby of model engineering about eight years ago when he attended a miniature train convention for the first time.

"I got to drive one of these at the Manukau Club and that was it, I was on it in 30 seconds, within two weeks I'd bought my first locomotive," he said.

Having now built a couple of engines, and a third of a mile of track at his father's property, Mr Taylor is a regular at miniature train conventions.

"It was a product of my decision that I needed to find a hobby to try and stop being so work-obsessed, and I wanted a hobby that got me outside because my work's all inside and a hobby that would allow me to associate with all sorts of amazing people and do something with my hands, and that's why this hobby is perfect."

Mr Taylor said he loved how complex miniature trains were, particularly how they used fire and water to produce energy via steam.

In Whangarei for the first time, Mr Taylor has taken a couple of weeks' holiday from his current project, The Hobbit.

He said he was particularly impressed with the track and facilities at Heritage Park.

Also impressed was Gerardus Mol, a reporter with Model Engineering, an Australian magazine, who has come to New Zealand to cover the Whangarei convention.

The Heritage Park track was magic, Mol said.

"For 10 blokes, in 10 years, to do all this is just amazing. It just shows you what a few people with a certain direction can do," Mol said.

Hundreds of people flocked to the convention's first open day yesterday. Many, including children of all ages, rode the carriages pulled by the steam engines.

The convention will be open to the public today and Sunday. People can ride on a miniature train for $2.