Good News Friday: Your weekly roundup of positive rail news!

Stations operated by Northern in Batley, Beverley, Blaydon, Church and Oswaldtwistle, Hartlepool, Hebden Bridge, Riding Mill and Seaton Carew were left spotless after volunteers filled dozens of bin bags with litter last week.

The annual event, organised by Keep Britain Tidy, sees thousands of people across the country clean up their local communities.

Twelve volunteers from Friends of Beverley Station spent two-and-a-half hours picking litter, filling bin bags with discarded coffee cups, sandwich wrappers and cigarette butts.

The group maintain trees and flowers in a picturesque planted area outside the front of the station and they are also in the process of creating a wildlife area next to the car park.

Sue Dyer, co-ordinator of the group, said: “There are only around a dozen of us who work on a regular basis, so we’re a small band of volunteers but we’re all very committed.

“We just want to make sure people get a really good impression when they arrive by train in Beverley and it’s great to have funding from Northern to allow us to do what we do.”

Nine volunteers from Friends of Hebden Bridge Station filled nine bags of rubbish over two hours, cleaning up dog mess, beer cans and fast-food containers.

The group regularly pick litter around the station, tend to gardens outside the entrance and plant a colourful array of flowers along borders which line the footpaths.  

Chairman Martin Whittell said: “The station at Hebden Bridge is spectacular and we want to keep it that way.

“We want it to look nice and we get a lot of comments from passengers who come through, especially during the summer months.”

Another eight volunteers from Friends of Batley Station filled 33 bags of rubbish over four hours in heavy rain, picking up empty bottles, dirty nappies, hub caps and an old Christmas tree stand.

Chair Gwen Lowe said: “The station is a gateway into Batley. We have people coming from all over, so it’s important they arrive at a nice, tidy, colourful and friendly station.

“We’re a lovely group. We’re only small, but we’re like a family and everyone’s got different strengths.”

It comes after the station group was recognised as a runner up in the Outstanding Organisers category at the Great British Spring Clean Awards 2023.

Kerry Peters, regional director for Northern, said: “We’re grateful to these volunteers who work so hard to keep our stations clean and tidy and hope customers appreciate their efforts.

“I hope those that have dropped litter in the past will use the bins provided in the future.

“We work with hundreds of adoption groups, across our network, who take pride in ensuring their local stations are pleasant and welcoming places to visit.”  

SVR announces GBRf Class 73 for Spring Diesel Festival guest list

A Class 73 locomotive with a strong connection to the Severn Valley Railway is the latest guest to join the impressive roster for the heritage line’s forthcoming Spring Diesel Festival. The event takes place across four days, from 16-19 May.

Main line operator GB Railfreight has agreed to allow 73119 to attend, and its appearance will be especially poignant to many at the line, because the locomotive has been named after longstanding SVR supporter Paul Taylor. Paul was a strong champion of both the SVR and the SVR-based Class 50 Alliance, often using its locomotives on the charity rail tours he organised, and helping to provide GBRf diesels at SVR events.

A total of 49 Class 73s were introduced between 1962 and 1967, and 39 of these still survive.

Although the 73s are a third-rail DC electric locomotive, they are also fitted with a 650hp diesel engine, allowing them to operate away from electrified rail.

“This feature makes them incredibly versatile, “explained the SVR’s managing director, Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster, “Although, as you might expect, they’re very low-powered when operating on diesel power. However, that’s not something to concern us at our event, because this will be about the sheer curiosity value of operating a locomotive like this on a heritage line.

“Paul Taylor, whose name the loco carries, was a dear friend to me and many others associated with the SVR, and we are especially pleased that GBRf have agreed to the appearance of 73119.”

There’s more information about the Spring Diesel Festival at svr.co.uk

Porterbrook and Primary Engineer celebrate second year supporting Warwickshire schools

Pupils from nine Warwickshire primary schools gathered at Porterbrook’s Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre for a celebration event with Primary Engineer.

The event was a chance to celebrate the achievements of students who took part in the year-long Rail Programme where they teamed up with engineers from rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook to research and build their own model trains. 

This Rail Programme is delivered across the UK through Primary Engineer, a not-for-profit organisation whose vision is to ensure all children and pupils achieve their full potential through engagement with engineering. 

This is the second year Porterbrook has funded the Rail Programme for schools around Warwickshire through Primary Engineer.

Porterbrook’s COO Ben Ackroyd said: “I’m delighted to host Primary Engineer at the Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre for the second year. Our engineers are leading some of the most exciting innovations taking place in the railway today. It’s been great to share that enthusiasm and passion, and to hopefully inspire the next generation of future engineers.” 

Year 5/6 Teacher at Dunnington Primary School Dave Palmer said: “The program in my class was an exciting challenge and we had some great help from our engineer. We did the build in about a day and a half and had a great time.” 

During the celebration event last week, a variety of prizes were awarded to the students from Best Theme to Best Communicator.  

One pupil reflected, “I’ve learnt that whatever you do you have to be precise otherwise things might not go according to plan,” while another commented, “I really like doing the body and making the wheels work, it’s quite fun. My dad is an engineer and I want to be like him.” 

Contract Manager at Primary Engineer Sarah Tanswell said: “The core idea of the company is obviously inspiring children to understand that engineering is a worthwhile career, really engaging with STEM in the classroom and making sure its across curricular activity. We’ve had so many wonderful comments already and the children are very excited, giving us loads of drawings and celebrating the builds going down the ramp.” 

Porterbrook’s Operations Manager at Long Marston Phil Handford said: “My dad helped me when I was four years of age with engineering, and I fell in love with it from that point. I’m hoping that some of these young kids today from what they’ve taken in this experience will become an engineer, whether it’s in the railway, car industry or wherever that may be.”