Great Rail Tales

Matt Crossfield - Stepping into a different world

Children’s author Matt Crossfield describes how experiencing the hiss, wheeze and roar of the steam railway at Dean Forest Railway for the first time ignited a lifelong passion in him.
Matt started volunteering on the railway at just 8 years old as a travelling ticket inspector at Dean Forest before his first driving experience at Perrygrove Railway. Today he volunteers at Tinton Old Railway station where loves connecting with people who come to see and experience the narrow-gauge miniature railway.
The railway has given Matt lifelong friends, escapism and incredible life experiences for which he is incredibly grateful.

Fiona Campbell – Northbound Dreams

Fiona Campbell recalls a lifetime of memories of travelling on the Caledonian Sleeper spanning childhood holidays to hen weekends to trips to London with family.

Kyla Hislop - how the railways brought us fish n chips!

Kyla Hislop, interpretation curator for the Iron Bridge Gorge Museum Trust, shares her passion for making our industrial history come alive through telling the stories of innovation and discovery which have helped shape the modern world. She tells the tale of how the invention of the railways allowed fresh fish to be transported around the UK, fuelling the Victorian passion for Fish n Chips, a passion many of us share to this day!

Paul Stanford - how the railway made me

A lifelong railway man who’s story goes back 150 years to his great great grandfather who started a family tradition of working on the railways.  Thanks to the railway, Paul met his wife, named his sons and has enjoyed a lifetime of close friendships, connections and precious memories including the time he made the late Queen laugh!

Reuben James – Making memories on the railways

Matt shares an emotional and heartfelt story of how the railway gave his partner’s son Ruben his first smile and real laugh in 4 years. 14 year old Ruben has a life-limiting condition but the railway has become a shared passion for Ruben and his ‘bonus daddy’, Matt, allowing them a way to make precious memories when they know time is much too short for them all.

Gerald Townson – The Bentham dementia friendly line

Born and bought up near The Bentham Line, today Gerald Townson is the Chairman of the Leeds Morecambe Community Rail Partnership, which includes The Bentham Line, which is celebrating its 175th year at the same time as the Railway 200 celebrations. The Bentham Line has been become known as the dementia friendly line for its efforts on inclusivity and community for people living with dementia and their loved ones. Gerald describes the joy and benefits of a day out on The Bentham Line, usually ending in fish n chips in Morecambe, for people living with dementia. 

Stephen Parr – The clock at Corris

An active volunteer guard on the Corris Railway and lifelong rail enthusiast, Stephen’s passion for the steam railways started in the 1960’s, travelling from Birmingham’s Snow Hill station to Reading where he would visit his grandad Wilfred.
His enthusiasm for the railway has taken him on trains around the world. But it is his connection to Wilfred, a GWR clock maker that makes this story special and takes us full circle, the clock in Corris was most likely one of the over 200 clocks made by his grandfather.

Rupert Furness – My Grandma and the Sutton Coldfield rail disaster

Norman and Marjorie Fairy lived most of their lives in Sutton Coldfield, their house backing onto the railway line. A silver dish on their mantlepiece had always fascinated Rupert when he would stay with his grandparents.
On 23rd January 1955 Marjorie heard a huge crash from the line. She rushed out and looking down the line saw the aftermath of a huge crash. She ran to help, but knowing the timetable she knew there would be a local train arriving on the same line in just a few minutes. She ran down the line to warn the oncoming train and was able to prevent the disaster becoming much worse.
17 people were killed in the Sutton Coldfield rail disaster. Today, they and those who came forward to help are remembered on a plaque in Sutton Coldfield station.

Anjali Devadasan – Powering the railways into the future

Founder and CEO of innovative renewable energy company, Treeva, Anjali Devadasan is exploiting the wind turbulence caused by passing trains to generate predictable renewable power on the rail network. The technology has been proven on the roadside and is now appearing trackside.
With double the energy efficiencies and increased durability Treeva’s trackside wind turbines generate enough electricity to power infrastructure like station lighting, EV charging at depots and train care centres.
Find out more about Treeva here: https://www.treeva.co.uk/

Philip Dunn – the 1980’s version of Francis Bourgeois

Executive Director of Finance and Operations at Alzheimer’s Research UK, one of the charities supported by Railway 200, Philip’s love of trains goes right back to Shildon and his school days at the Timothy Hackworth Primary school. His father and grandfather worked at the local wagon works which meant he benefitted from free rail travel.
Family holidays were long train rides from the northeast of England to mainland Europe which opened his eyes to the world.
His passion soon evolved into becoming a trainspotter. In this Great Rail Tale, Philip recalls some of his stories of collecting train names and numbers, including a 12-hour stint at Reading station.
In addition to working for Alzheimer's Research UK, Philip is a trustee of the Railway Housing Association.