My name is Vincenzo, I was born in 1943 in Tunis (Tunisia), I arrived in Italy in 1954 on vacation to visit my relatives. My relatives lived in Grosseto, in this little town of Tuscany, in Via Oberdan I found a model shop where I bought my first “Rivarossi” toy train. The toy box of the train contained a steam 835 locomotive, a red F wagon and a green postal wagon. Later I purchased my first Marklin locomotive, the E64 in catalog 3002. After Christmas, the E 110 locomotive arrived. At that time there was no verb "I want", because life was what it was, and at best things could be “wished”. Dreams and wishes they were the only things that could be done, in fact every time I passed in front of the train shop, which was around the corner, I dreamed and hoped that all the wonderful trains would run on my tracks.

Life always holds surprises, in fact after finishing school I went back to Italy to Venturina, another small town in Tuscany. When I was a young man, I took it out and set up a railway model in the back of my Father’s shop.  The railway model was 3.5 m x 4.5 m. it had a double track and return loop. It was practically a ring, with Marklin material. One day a 12 years old little boy, Marco Viti, came to my father's shop, I showed him my model railway, and after seeing it, he was enchanted by such beauty, in fact, he decided to return with his father every Saturday to see it.  This boy became an adult but his passion for train modeling did not disappear.  Then this young man and I started doing train model demonstrations around Italy.

 

In 1987 I started a new railway model, but this time in my attic, the space was good enough 10 m x 3 m.
There are two ring tracks, which allow three trains to chase each other. In 2000 I finished the landscape and the electronic part of my attic railway model.

Meanwhile in 1998 I started yet another project together with my friends. The project involved building the modules according to FIMF standards. I built Follonica station, so I could start playing with my friends from the GFP.

Since 2005 I started exhibiting in Expo Models, where I bring the stations of Follonica and San Vincenzo. The San Vincenzo station arrived in 2008 by Serafino Casella, a great model maker from Empoli

Meanwhile, also in 2008, Max and Gianluca arrived with great spirit and desire to have fun.

Today the large railway model is transported inside a van, a Renault Master. The van is painted in the XMPR livery of the Ferrovie Dello Stato. All FIMF standard modules of the railway model are transported in containers.

In 2019 Gabriele and Maurizio Benedettini two great passionate model makers joined the VBF group.

From May 2019 the VBF Group is officially registered with the FIMF

 

Every day is a reason for happiness with the trains that run on the tracks of VBF Group.