I have had a different Monday this week when I went to a railway company’s press launch.
Long-standing friend Pete Mason asked me to write a press release last week for a group of Stone and Stafford railway enthusiasts for whom a 20-year dream is on track this weekend.
I thought I must attend and I was really impressed by the trains, the mile-long track and all the hard work put in by the group.
The Amerton Railway, near Stowe-by-Chartley had always wanted to own the land which it had been renting near Stafford to keep alive the Staffordshire railway heritage.
Now the owner of Amerton Farm & Craft Centre, Paul Williams, has agreed to sell the field on which the line runs to the Staffordshire Narrow Gauge Railway, of which Pete is one of the directors.
To celebrate this occasion the charity is holding a special open day this Saturday (May 5) for the public to see and ride behind a number of local historic engines.
At 1pm on Saturday (May 5) the Mayor of Stafford, Cllr Stan Highfield, will cut a celebratory ribbon to herald the next 20 years of narrow gauge railway heritage in Staffordshire.
It will be almost 20 years since the then Mayor of Stafford, pictured below, officially opened the railway on the Amerton site on March 27, 1993, by cutting a ribbon and making a speech from Isabel’s footplate before the train gave the mayoral party a special trip along the line.
“It will be a day of celebration and a great chance to thank all those who have helped make this dream happen,” said Derek Luker, chairman of the railway, who added that the money had been given by members and supporters plus a mortgage from the HSBC Bank.
“It is also an opportunity to show the county’s tremendous railway heritage which is becoming a really popular tourist attraction,” added Derek.
He said the charity was staffed by volunteers whose aim was to restore, maintain and run narrow gauge locomotives.
The 115-year-old Isabel, which used to be on a plinth outside Stafford station, will be one of the engines giving rides on Saturday (May 5) from 12 noon to 5pm.
Built in 1897 by Bagnalls of Stafford the steam engine is now fully restored and will be operating most weekends at Amerton Railway along the mile-long track.
Two other engines will also be in steam on the day; Jennie built in Tamworth in 2008 and a 2007 Paddy vertical boiler while other diesels will be on display in the yard including:
Golspie built in 1935 by the Burton-upon-Trent firm of Baguley for the Trentham Gardens railway. When that railway closed, it moved to Alton Towers and then to Amerton, where the public can see it awaiting restoration.
Dreadnought, built in 1939 by Baguley, was used in Kent, Lancashire and Walton-on-the-Naze pier, Essex. It now works passenger trains on some Saturdays and will be running at the opening
Ernie’s Engine, the small Ruston diesel locomotive from Littleton Colliery, Cannock, is now used for shunting at Amerton.
At the special opening day will be VIPs including County, Borough and Stafford Tourism officials, donors and members of the railway and representatives from HSBC Bank.
Youngsters with special needs from the Trinity Skills for Life in Stone were to enjoy the press launch together with local mums and babies who met through the National Childbirth Trust.
So far the launch has gone brilliantly with a page one picture story, pictured below, in the Express and Star tonight (Tuesday) plus a one-minute video clip on their video site.
It certainly helped that it was the only sunny day with blue skies for more than a week.
The Burton Mail has also given the railway good coverage and I am promised the Staffordshire Newsletter and other papers will also be running the story.
If you want a fun day out this Bank Holiday weekend for all the family do go to the open day at Amerton Farm & Craft Centre on Saturday afternoon.
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