Penmere Station - Friends of the station, their awards and website (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the West Briton:

Volunteers have received national recognition for their efforts to look after a Falmouth railway station.

The Friends of Penmere came second in the small projects category of the Community Rail Partnership Awards for their installation of a miniature replica steam engine on the platform.

It was made by a group of apprentices from Pendennis Shipyard, under the guidance of fabrication manager Anthony Job.

Using scrap alloy from the yard, the September intake of seven fabrication and two paint apprentices spent just over two weeks building and finishing the 8ft engine.

A previous decorative engine at the station had to be dismantled about five years ago because of damage caused by the weather and vandalism.

Steve Lloyd, a member of the Friends, said: "It is a nice accolade. The train has been there for more than a year and people have commented on how nice it looks," he said. "The flowers are growing well."

It's not the first time the friends have brought home a prize from the ceremony, and the station has won prizes in the town gardens competition and Britain in Bloom awards.

Next year is a big celebration for the group, marking its 20th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of the Falmouth-to-Truro maritime branch line.

[grahame]

From the West Briton:

[snip]

The illustrious young reporter Jason, who has worked on the Melksham Independent News for the last several years, is moving to Truro and joining the staff of the "West Briton" at the end of next week.

Can I ask any of our members who come across him to make him feel at home, and to remember that in our experience his stories with both the words "train" and "Melksham" in them tend to get published in quite prominent positions 

[RichardB]

Thanks for the info, Grahame.  Will do.

[RichardB]

A very nice piece that appeared in the West Briton while I was on leave at the end of September.   

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/decades-change-Penmere-Station/story-19843997-detail/story.html#axzz2idLwQ3WR

A top bunch!

[RichardB]

Just to let you know, the Friends of Penmere Station have a webpage -

http://falmouthalive.org.uk/pg/groups/475/friends-of-penmere-station/

At the bottom of the page, there is a link to several photo albums showing their work and achievements.