Royal honour for Amerton Railway’s volunteer team
THE Amerton Railway has been honoured with The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service after almost a third of a century of progress.
The highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK, it was created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee. Winners are announced each year on June 2, the anniversary of the Queen's Coronation, and this year also includes the Heaton Park Tramway (see separate story, page 43).
The 2ft gauge line has its origins in the restoration of Bagnall 0-4-0ST No.1491 of 1897 Isabel, which had been displayed on a plinth outside the manufacturer's premises and then Stafford station following the end of its working life. Volunteers began its restoration at a council depot in Stafford in 1987.
Staffordshire Narrow Gauge Railway Limited, a registered charity, began building the railway in 1990 in a field at the side of Amerton Working Farm at Stowe-by-Chartley.
Its first trains ran in 1992, and 10 years later the railway was completed as a mile-long full circuit with two passing loops.
Railway representatives will receive the award and certificate from Ian Dudson CBE, Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire, later this summer. Depending on Covid-19 restrictions at the time, two volunteers will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2022, along with other recipients of this year's award.
Chairman Pete Gully said: “It is amazing to see what our volunteers have accomplished here at Amerton Railway, and we are honoured to receive this award.
“Being able to engage with our local communities and visitors and share our knowledge about the locomotives, rolling stock and other artefacts we have on site is a pleasure.
“We would like to say thank you to our volunteers, both past and present, and to the local community for their ongoing support.”
The railway will host its summer steam gala, Staffordshire Engines
II, over the weekend of July 17/18, featuring five locomotives built in the county.
The event will see the first steaming together in more than 70 years of Kerr Stuart Wren 0-4-0STs Lorna Doone and Peter Pan, both now in full Devon County Council liveries.
Also running will be Isabel, Kerr Stuart 0-4-0T Diana and Hunslet 0-4-0ST Jennie.