Advisors to the Board

Operations Director

Huw Parker

Huw was a serving Lieutenant Colonel with the Corps of Royal Engineers, which he joined directly from school through RMA Sandhurst in 1980 and was commissioned in 1981.  He has held a variety of military appointments and seen tours of duty ranging from the Falkland Islands, Germany, Canada, Northern Ireland, the Balkans and the Middle East.  Latterly, he has been based at the Defence Equipment and Support organisation in Bristol where he has primarily been responsible for Deployable Infrastructure, Protected Mobility and Logistic Vehicles.

Only just old enough to remember steam on the mainline, he has been told that watching trains from his pushchair gave his mother some respite from an energetic two year old!  Born and brought up in Formby, he has memories of watching steam locos for hours (probably Jinties!) shunting the coal yard at Freshfield Station on the Liverpool-Southport line and having to be prised away from the chain link fence when it was time to go home!  He was only five when he joined his father and uncle following No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell through to Southport and out over the Moss towards Wigan on one of the last days of steam specials.

Huw began his involvement within the Railway Preservation scene at Steamport Southport as the embryonic railway centre began to develop the ex-Southport MPD (27C) into a local transport museum.  H&S rules were much more relaxed in those early years and he began as a very junior member at the age of 11.  Along with members of the Liverpool Locomotive Preservation Group, he became involved with the restoration of ex-LMS Jinty 0-6-0T, No. 7298 after owner Derek Foster asked if he wanted a “little job”.  Years of mentoring and encouragement by Derek followed, to say nothing of collecting up tools and chasing after a youngster who kept finding the next job before the first was finished!  He took part in the Rocket 150 Rainhill Cavalcade celebrations, where No. 7298 became the yard shunter and helped to marshal locomotives and stock prior to the main event and the subsequent exhibition at Bold Colliery.  He moved to the Llangollen Railway in North Wales when the Jinty visited there in 1981 and after a spell at the East Lancashire Railway with both No. 7298 and No. 76079, Llangollen became his home railway. After many years helping to look after No. 7298, often travelling back from Germany and other overseas locations to spend time with the locomotive, Huw eventually bought it from Derek in 1998 and operated the locomotive with support from the Llangollen until it was recently sold.

Huw first became involved with Tornado when the A1 visited Llangollen for the very successful Betton Grange ‘Steam, Steel and Stars III Gala’ in 2012 and he was the rostered driver for several turns during the locomotive’s visit. Tornado opened the first section of the extension to Corwen, which Huw and a small group of individuals had planned and built in the previous 12 months.  Although not driving the first train, he enjoyed the experience so much that he took an offer to join them for a run on the Mainline. Since those first turns as a support crew member, Huw is now responsible for managing the database of A1SLT support crew volunteers.  As Huw is the first to acknowledge, supporting Tornado is very much a team effort; our DB Cargo Footplate Crews, Support Crew, Merchandising Team and even the chef are key to ensuring that any trip is a success.

Volunteer Coordinator

Mark Grant

Mark is our Volunteer Coordinator. He is responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient people for each event that The Trust attends, and for the on-board teams that Tornado hauls. He then has to see to it that everyone turns up in the right place at the right time, and that they have their respective duties allocated. He liaises with various key personnel to make sure that all that needs to be in place for a trip/event actually happens. Not always an easy task! Mark also maintains the Volunteer Database.

Recently, he has implemented an online team calendar for our volunteers to sign up for duties. This makes his job of rostering somewhat easier. Along with this, he introduced an instant messaging system. This does away with emails for internal communications, and has streamlined how we contact each other.

Mark is in overall charge of the on-board train operations (Carriage Hosts & Support Team – formally Stewards & Merchandisers) whenever he is on that trip, and also takes on the role of Train Manager as required.

He joined The Trust along with his wife Mandy in October 2013. He has done merchandising and stewarding and helps to promote the P2 project at roadshows and events.

So lots of work for him to do – not forgetting a full time job as a Field Service Technician for Whirlpool – a career he has been in, and with the same company, for 38 years!

Financial Director

Chris Walker

Chris looks after the financial affairs of Tornado. Chris has had various responsibilities since he became an active volunteer with the Trust in 2008; prior to that he was ‘just’ a covenantor paying his monthly dues. He was born in Leeds to a Lancashire father and a Yorkshire mother. The result of that was that his father was an LMS man and his other relations were all LNER! The family moved to Derby from 1944 until 1949, before returning to Leeds. His father worked at Farnley Junction and later Holbeck shed until retirement. His favourite uncle was a signalman at Holbeck Junction and Beeston Station ‘boxes and visits to see him at work were the start of interest in Peppercorn class A1s.

Having finished school he spent time at Leeds Technical College. During this time he had a Saturday job at Boots in Leeds on the chemist counter. After finishing at the technical College, he got a full time job in the chemist stockroom at the Boots shop.  Chris left Boots in 1963 and started a career in the bus industry, rather than rail operations like the rest of the family. He went to work at what was then Leeds City Transport (LCT) as a schedules clerk. LCT was one of the first operators to have radios fitted to buses and Chris was transferred for a spell in the radio control room so was one of the earliest radio operators.

After a spell back in the schedules office, he was offered the chance to go on the Municipal Passenger Transport Association’s (MPTA) Executive Training Course. This involved working at four different bus operators for six months each.  After finishing the MPTA course, Chris returned to Leeds for a short period in the planning office but was then offered a job with what was now West Midlands PTE at Wolverhampton. Starting there as District Road Officer on 1st April 1970, he was responsible for all route operations. His first task was to merge the old separate trolleybus and motorbus routes into a more efficient network. In 1976 he moved to Walsall as District Traffic Superintendent and in 1980 became Operations Manager.  With privatisation in 1986 he was seconded to the Information Technology Department on a temporary basis to develop systems that would be essential for viable commercial operations. As is the case with many temporary secondments, this one lasted until Chris left the PTE in September 1993. He was asked to set up a UK subsidiary company for a Canadian firm dealing with computer scheduling software for transport operations.

His first involvement in merchandising was when Tornado started running at the GCR at Loughborough. He volunteered for the sales stand at the station, selling a very basic selection of Tornado items. The money taken was just collected in a bag and taken home; no receipts or till balances. By the end of the first week, there was about £7,000 in cash in his car. It was eventually handed over to David Elliott for transport to Darlington to be banked. Chris was then approached to be merchandise volunteer co-ordinator, ensuring that teams of sales volunteers were available in the right place at the right time.  Chris has done spells on the support crew and in 2010 project-managed the reassembly of Tornado after the boiler had been back to Germany for repair of the firebox.  With the retirement of Barry Wilson as Finance Director, Chris was asked if he could take over the book-keeping role for the remaining parts of the Trust.  In 2014, Chris was approached about becoming a Trustee and was appointed to this position in April of that year.

ChrisWalker

Advisor to the Board

Richard Peck

A Chartered Mechanical Engineer and a time-served railwayman, Richard was born in the Shedmaster’s house in Woodford Halse in 1951 and his earliest memories (five to ten years later) are of being taken to the shed at Immingham on Sunday mornings, and left on the footplate of an O1 or an O4 2-8-0 with the footplate crew shunting the shed, whilst his father conversed with the Running Foreman on the plan for the next day or so.  The level crossing at Littlefield Lane in Grimsby was where he used to walk to watch the B1s on the King’s Cross trains, and the K3s on the fish trains.  A move to Darlington in 1960 allowed close up views of A1s starting heavy trains out of the station, as well as the A4s and A3s passing on the fast lines.

Taking up a paper round in York in 1965, Richard used to time it so that he could check which engine was on the 07:11hrs York to Leeds as it approached Challoners Whin Junction each day; usually it was No. 42699 of Nevllie Hill. By 1966, he began getting up earlier, so he could finish the paper round  in time to ride to Church Fenton on the 07:11hrs behind a York B1, and return on the 07:50hrs arrival from Manchester with another York B1, then home for breakfast before going to school.  Most weekends and all the school holidays during the first half of 1967 were spent on the Bournemouth line, riding behind the Bulleid Pacifics in those unforgettable exciting last few months of high speed steam in the UK.  The north west of England gave plenty of scope over the next few months to enjoy Black 5s and Britannias working out their last, until school exams and girls began to grow in importance.

With the end of steam in the UK, there were frequent visits to France and Germany starting in 1968, with some rather wonderful locomotives. With his interest re-kindled, whole new worlds of main line steam railways opened up for Richard, with East Germany from 1971, Czechoslovakia from 1972, Poland from 1973, South Africa from 1976 and Turkey from 1977.

Richard started work with British Railways in 1971 as an engineering trainee, although steam had already finished it remained Richard’s hobby. His career (with diesels) included posts at various Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depots, including Gateshead, South Gosforth, Bounds Green, Thornaby, and Neville Hill.  Privatisation of the railways led to roles as Technical Performance Engineer, Engineering Director, and finally Managing Director with North West Regional Railways / First North Western.

The passion for steam remained!  Joining The A1 Steam LocomotiveTrust in 2009, Richard helped with the commercial arrangements of hiring out Tornado for visits to preserved lines and main line railtours. He remains an active member of the Support Crew.

Director of Administration

Duncan Ross

Additional to his responsibilities as Administration Director, Duncan is the first point of contact for the Trust’s Covenantors and members of the public. As an officer of the Administrative Branch – Secretarial Specialisation – he has had over 30 years experience in the administration, management and auditing of Charitable funds. Duncan retired from the Royal Air Force in 1966, he is a former Chairman, and Fellow, of the Institute of Administrative Management and a Chartered Member of the Institute of Personnel and Development.

Director of Engineering

David Elliott

David is responsible for the project’s engineering strategy and implementation. He is a professional engineer, ex-BR Graduate Engineer in traction and rolling stock. After a number of years in commercial and managerial positions in the aerospace industry, and subsequently as a project manager in the railway signalling industry, he is now an independent consulting engineer retained by the Trust.

David

Promotions

Tony Streeter

An experienced transport journalist, Tony was Steam Railway magazine’s longest-serving editor until his decision to go freelance at the end of 2006. Now associate editor of Tramways and Urban Transit, Tony has also written for Britain’s Railways, Model Rail, RAIL, Railways Illustrated and the general travel industry. He still regularly contributes to Steam Railway, among other things penning the influential ‘Down Main’ column. His name has now appeared in well over 100 issues of the magazine, which during his editorship was Britain’s biggest-selling railway title. Tony is a fluent German speaker and has also contributed to publications in both Germany and Switzerland.

Grants and big-ticket fundraising

Julian Birley

Julian is experienced in dealing with the Heritage Lottery Fund and responsible for promoting relationships with other organisations.  He secured the support coach for Tornado and a £48,000 loan for the engine.  He also acquired the required track for Hopetown Works.  Julian is chairman of the Locomotive Conservation and Learning Trust, developing a scheme with the NRM to demonstrate and preserve skills involved with locomotive restoration by restoring J21 65033, subject to a million pound HLF grant.  As director of the North Norfolk Railway he was project director for the Sheringham Level crossing, fundraiser for the Quad Arts, carriage shed and lead the appeal to save Sheringham station from developers.He has been responsible for three successful HLF applications totalling £1.million.  He recently became the owner of the 1902 Quarry Hunslet Alice.

JulianBirley

Sponsorship and events management

Sophie James

Day to day, Sophie is responsible for the marketing of Tornado’s railtours. She also oversees Education and Outreach for the Trust.  Having studied Teaching and History at university, Sophie worked within the Learning and Public Programmes Department at the National Railway Museum before managing the Commercial and Marketing function for a steam railway.  Not afraid to get her hands dirty, Sophie is a passed fireman at the NRM and is a member of the A1 Support Crew.

 Sophie James