The first full week in June was busy for representatives of the National Railway Heritage Awards as no fewer than four of the 2023 award winners held ceremonies to unveil officially the plaques that had been awarded at the ceremony held at Merchant Taylors’ Hall in London in early December 2023.
The first of the quartet was at Crakehall, on the preserved Wensleydale Railway, on Monday 3 June when the railway’s success in winning the Hendy & Pendle Trust Volunteers’ Award was marked. The entry – the recreation of the North Eastern Railway level crossing gates – had transformed the visual appearance of the location and was the product of careful research into the original design of the NER’s Southern Division gates and excellent workmanship. As the citation at the award ceremony noted ‘these gates are now “fit for purpose” and make use simpler and safer for staff, improving the safe operation of the railway. In addition, although “wayside” features, they give an air of professionalism and correctness to the rural railway scene at Crakehall.’
The plaque was unveiled by Peter, Lord Hendy CBE, the chairman of Network Rail representing the award’s sponsors, in the company of representatives of the Wensleydale Railways and the NRHA.
The newly unveiled plaque at Crakehall – centrepiece of an attractive new interpretative panel – with, from the left, Andy Savage MBE, chairman of the NRHA, Lord Hendy CBE, chairman of Network Rail representing the sponsors of the award (the Hendy & Pendle Trust), Bob Coombes, volunteer crossing keeper on the Wensleydale Railway (who suggested the installation of the new gates and funded the work), and David Walker, trustee of the Wensleydale Railway. Wensleydale Railway
The beautifully installed replacement level crossing gates at Crakehall on the Wensleydale Railway; the result of careful research and excellent workmanship, the completed project justifiably won the Volunteers’ Award, sponsored by the Hendy & Pendle Trust, at the 2023 National Railway Heritage Awards.