Over last weekend, the Churnet Valley Railway played host to a very special group of individuals.
Visiting from the South Coast, The Sygnets are the Swanage Railway’s youth group made up of 13 – 18 year old’s where they are given the opportunity to experience what it is like to be involved in an operational railway. They meet one day a month, but an additional weekend trip was organised that brought them to the Moorlands to experience the operation of the Churnet Valley Railway.
During their two-day visit 12 youngsters got to complete various tasks around the railway, across a number of departments to see what efforts are required behind the scenes to make the trains run. They started off by cleaning the day’s service locomotive, experiencing the engineering that is involved to bring these old workhorses to life. This was followed by an afternoon of ‘fault finding’ at Consall signal box, repairing Victorian technology and helping the signalman operate the box and associated token system – learning how train systems operated safely long before computers came into existence.
Sunday saw the group treated to a Staffordshire Breakfast on-board the railway’s first-class dining train, before visiting Leek Brook junction where they got a quick tour of the ongoing work to extend to Leek, prior to completing a line walk that included an inspection of the 531-yard Cheddleton Tunnel. The weekend then concluded by helping to expand the power distribution around the Froghall site ahead of developments to occur during the winter.
The weekend proved to be a great success, with the CVR’s Managing Director Greg Wilson especially pleased:
“If heritage railways are to survive, then it’s imperative that we encourage the younger generations. Many years ago I myself was the youngest steam driver at the CVR at the age of 23 – sadly that title no longer applies for myself. However only the other week we passed out two more steam drivers aged 26 and 30 respectively – both of whom joined in their early teens. If we don’t allow people the opportunity to be involved at early ages, then how can we expect them to develop a lasting interest?”
The weekend has been seen as a total success, with members of the Sygnets asking to return before even leaving! The Churnet Valley Railway is more than welcoming to any Youth Group wishing to visit the railway and sample a similar experience, if you are the leader of any such group then please send an enquiry to enquiries@churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk or call 01538 360522.
