UK: Looking to the future as well as the past and inspiring the next generation of railway operators and engineers was a focus of The Greatest Gathering held at Alstom’s Derby factory as key part of the year of Railway 200 celebrations marking the anniversary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1825.
Much of the exhibition space at the sold-out charity event on August 1-3 was given over to historic traction. But modern vehicles and the Inspiration travelling exhibition train were also on show, a future-focused family-friendly STEM Hub aimed to ‘ignite curiosity and ambition‘, and bodies including Young Rail Professionals and the Chartered Institution of Railway Operators were in attendance.
Turning a factory into a visitor attraction
The Greatest Gathering was the first time in almost 50 years that the Derby factory had opened its doors to the public. Work to prepare the Litchurch Lane site, stage the event and then return it to its original state needed careful planning and a halt in operations, Rob Whyte, Managing Director UK & Ireland at Alstom, told Rail Business UK.
‘When it was first presented to me it was slightly smaller scale; I think 30 to 50 trains and a maximum of 5 000 people’, he said. ‘But now we’re 140 trains and 40 000 people so quite a different thing.’
Whyte said ‘let’s not forget, this is a manufacturing site, we make trains here, we design, build and test trains here. Turning it into a visitor attraction is not really one of the things we do very often.’
He said ‘on Monday, I’m building Elizabeth Line trains again here… I’m going to be checking the production schedules as usual, making sure that we stay on track for delivering for our projects.’
Whyte was particularly pleased that S&DR loco ‘Locomotion’ No 1 was present for the event, noting that through successive mergers its manufacturer Robert Stephenson & Co became part of Alstom in 1989, and ‘we are beyond proud to carry that legacy of ingenuity forward.’
Alstom also hosted a range of products from rival manufacturers including CAF and Stadler, which displayed one of its Class 398 tram-trains for the South Wales Valley Lines, a tri-mode Class 93 ordered by ROG and one of the Class 99 electro-diesel locos which have been ordered by GB Railfreight and are now attracting attention from other freight operators.
Something truly special
The Greatest Gathering ‘promises to enter the history books as the largest exhibition of railway equipment ever staged in the UK’, said Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy
‘The whole rail industry has come together to back the vision of the organising team to create something truly special, which is wonderful to see as we move forward into the new future with the creation of Great British Railways’.
Hendy said hoped the event would inspire ‘some of the diverse younger generations to become the railway professionals of the future.’
The event attracted almost 40 000 visitors over the three days. Profits will be split between Railway 200’s chosen charities Alzheimer’s Research UK, Railway Benefit Fund, Railway Children, Railway Mission and Transport Benevolent Fund CIO, and railway heritage partners.
