■ Railways big and small join in final Clap for Carers salute
RAILWAY heritage from the biggest to the smallest joined in the final Clap for our Carers event to show appreciation for National Health Service staff during the Covid- 19 pandemic.
The iconic 21- arch Glenfinnan Viaduct on the West Highland Extension was again illuminated in blue on the evening of May 28.
The 416- yard- long 1OOft- high viaduct, which starred in the Harry Potter movies, was Network Rail's first structure to be lit up in support of front- line staff and key workers in early April and to end the series it provided a fitting finale and tribute.
Alex Hynes, managing director at Scotland's Railway said: "As we move into the summer months, week by week we were losing the battle against the light to do justice to our essential workers and iconic stations and structures.
"We will continue to be humbled on a daily basis by the incredible dedication shown by staff in the NHS and we are grateful to all key workers across the country, including our railway family, who are playing a massive role in supporting the country at this time:'
The lighting for the viaduct was undertaken by the Stage Group, under the clear physical distancing messages from the Government.
At the same time, more than 600 miles away, the small number of staff still working at the closed Lappa Valley Railway in Cornwall decided to join in the final Clap for our Carers by raising steam on all four of the line's 1 Sin gauge locomotives and using the two operational diesels, to sound their whistles/ horns at 8pm. The cavalcade can be seen at lnkd.in/dx6a_b4
The event, which saw six of the
1 Sin gauge locomotives run, also provided an ideal opportunity for a mutual refresher course for the railway's staff of paid drivers who will be driving when the line, which runs on part of the GWR Newquay to Chase water branch, reopens subject to Government guidance. The popular attraction at St Newlyn East near Newquay was like many others, hoping for an early July restart.