OBITUARIES
John Farrow
THE founder of Hertfordshire Rail Tours (HRT) and more recently its successor, UK Railtours, died in hospital on April 19.
John Farrow had been in hospital for cancer treatment, but with a weakened immune system, he contracted Covid-19 and was unable to fight the virus.
John’s daughter Liz said no family could be with him because of the virus regulations. Only a nurse was able to be at his side.
John’s involvement with railtours began when he was working for British Rail, running occasional tours for the Lea
Valley Railway Club (LVRC) to raise funds for its clubhouse.
Hertfordshire Railtours (HRT) was formed in 1979 while John was still running tours for the LVRC.
His first tour was with
‘The Pines Express’ on March
17, 1979, from Paddington to Radstock and Weymouth, with a Class 40, 37 and 03.
It was a trip not without its difficulties, but John promised stewards‘whowouldn’tvanish’ when things didn’t go to plan.
John chartered the British VSOE for a trip over the Settle & Carlisle in 1984, and in 1988 ran the first of the ‘125 Specials’, which became synonymous with HRT, taking HSTs to Ilkley, Whitby, Yarmouth, Cromer, Gourock, Redmire, Rylstone, Boulby, Meldon Barnstaple, Pwllheli, High Marnham, Heysham, and Stranraer Harbours.
From day one, John and his team quickly built up a reputation for top-quality rail excursions, and on each train a charity raffle was held.
Over his 40 years in the railtour business, John raised hundreds of thousands for charity along with his supportive clientele.
Many tours had imaginative or comical names such as the ‘RylestoneCowboy’,‘Grimsby Reaper’, ‘Pheasant Plucker’, and the wonderfully titled ‘Foreceps Nurse’.
Many tours were innovative, in particular the 1996 collaboration with The Railway Magazine (for which John was a columnist) of the ‘Three Capitals Express’ – the first railtour tour using Eurostar from London to Paris and Brussels and back in a day. It was no surprise the 770 seats sold out in two hours!
The trip was repeated the same year, and four years later, John took a chartered Eurostar set to La Rochelle on the French Atlantic coast on what was a memorable day.
John is survived by his wife Clare, children Simon and Liz, and three great grandchildren, whom he adored.
His daughter Liz said UK Railtours aims to be back on the rails as soon as is possible, and the legacy John built up over more than 40 years would continue and not fade away.
His achievements were numerous, the accolades plentiful.
John was a both a businessman and a gentleman of the first order, who will be sorely missed by so many people.
With thanks to Ian Kapur.
Bill Best
THE founding father of the 2ft-gauge Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway died on April 9 in his 90th year, writes Cliff Thomas
After Bill Best and his brother David narrowly missed out on buying a standard-gauge loco when steam ended on the Slough Estates system, near their original Middlesex home, attention switched to narrow gauge, and 40 years ago they laid the first 100 yards of track in the grounds of Bill’s Kent home.
Assisted by a group of friends, the railway, a large shed/ museum building, locomotive shed and restoration shop were developed into its present form by the late-1980s.
Bill was always clear that B&WLR was not really a heritage railway – rather, they were collectors and restorers of locomotives.
The private half-mile running line held regular open days and an annual gala to show off as many of the locos in operation as possible.
Bill was a truly much-loved and admired man, and will be hugely missed, not least by this writer, who counted him as a friend.
His son, Bill Best (junior), intends to keep his father’s legacy alive and well at Bredgar.