Instead of a villa and a Ferrari: A lottery winner spent his money on a strange childhood dream (5 photos)
British man Neil Leighton has long been a fan of trains and steam locomotives, dreaming of owning a real locomotive. When he unexpectedly hit the million-pound jackpot, he decided to take action, but in a rather unusual way. 
Neil initially planned to spend part of his winnings on a real locomotive, but instead invested £40,000 in a collection of toy trains from the famous children's TV series "Thomas the Tank Engine." He explained this in an interview with The Mirror.
A Hereford, UK resident hit the jackpot in the Cash Bolt Christmas Millionaire game just two days after downloading the app. He used part of his winnings to take a luxury vacation with friends and decorated his four-bedroom home with a steam locomotive theme.
"After winning, I had the opportunity to invest in original Thomas merchandise, and I'm so glad I took it. It's a little more convenient than a real locomotive, but the collection turned out to be a wise investment. It was recently appraised and is worth about the same as a real mid-size steam locomotive," says the winner. 
Neil says his love of the railway began at the age of three, during a trip with his grandfather, Bynon. One of his first memories was riding on the real Thomas the Tank Engine at the Severn Valley Railway.
"My grandfather and I were riding, and he kept telling us to look out the window to see if we'd see rabbits. We never saw one, but he kept looking. And now I still look out the window every time I ride the train. My grandfather was a farmer, but he loved trains. He made me a train track with a loop, and I played with it endlessly. He died in 2020 and never saw my winnings—which is a shame, because he would have loved my collection," the British man said.
He received his Cash Bolt Christmas Millionaire Instant Win win in December 2023 while chatting with fellow enthusiastic Thomas the Tank Engine fans from around the world. He was sitting in his garden shed, playing the game on his phone, and talking to friends. 
"Suddenly the screen showed: 'Congratulations, you've won a million pounds.' I admit, my first thought was 'Trains! What can I buy now?'" the man recalled.
Since then, Neil has dedicated himself to supporting railway projects—including preserving the memory of Thomas the Tank Engine author, the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, and volunteering on the historic narrow-gauge Talyllyn Railway in Wales, which inspired the author's books. 
"We hold an annual festival in Audrey's honor, and I even joined the organizing committee. We recently raised £150,000 in support of the railway. People come from all over the world. I even get asked for autographs—they recognize me as a train fan and a lottery winner." 
