Get behind railway after vandalism
NEWS of the vandalism to the East Lancashire Railway on the weekend of its 30th anniversary was very sad indeed.
What should have been a weekend to celebrate what remains a remarkable achievement was overshadowed by the mindless behaviour of just a few people.
During the attacks a number of locomotives were daubed with graffiti and train carriage windows were smashed in. They also forced entry onto the trains damaging doors, while the cafe carriage at Bury Transport Museum was ransacked.
An appeal has now been set up to help raise the £30k needed to repair the damage. While we’re probably all asked for donations to things most weeks, this is one I’d urged people to support if they can at https://secure. thebiggive.org.uk/ projects/view/28866
Why? Well, the ELR gives an awful lot to our Valley, not least the presence of tens of thousands of visitors who probably wouldn’t find themselves in Rawtenstall otherwise.
Anyone who lives in the Valley can benefit from discount fares if they use the railway – a lovely gesture from an organisation which, at the end of the day, is a charity.
Thirty years ago, the ELR achieved a remarkable thing – completing the rescue of a railway line which the government of the 1960s had abandoned, and over the last three decades, they’ve created something really special.
It’s something which reminds us of our past, and at a time when other such reminders – the textile museum for example – are at risk of being lost, it’s important we help the ELR if we can.
Trio charged with ELR vandalism - see page 23