Chairman's Blog

East Lancashire Railway Welcomes Fresh £641,000 FundingLifeline As Latest Restrictions Leave Finances On A Knife Edge The East Lancashire Railway (ELR) has received a vital new lifeline as it battles to rebuild its finances – with a £641,600 grant from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the cherished heritage attraction is … More ELR Welcomes record Grant Award – £641,000 – 7 November 2020

October’s Board meeting was held just a few days before the government announced a month long lockdown 5 November to 2 December. (Check out my earlier Covid update). Headlines Reviewed Tier 3 restrictions and decision taken to continue operating trains. Santa’s – over 10,000 tickets sold. Halloween- almost 2,000 tickets sold. Chestwheel Slip – a … More News from the Boardroom-30 October 2020

The month of October proved to be very challenging for our staff and volunteers as the railway came to terms with further government restrictions, pub closures, poor weather and detailed planning for the important annual Halloween Spooky trains. Restrictions – First Lancashire and Greater Manchester initially went into Tier 2 and subsequently into Tier 3, … More ELR Covid Update – 1 November 2020

We are certainly living through some interesting and challenging times in trying to navigate a safe and secure pathway to survival for our heritage railway. Late last week and early this week we saw Lancashire and Greater Manchester placed in Tier 3. Does Tier 3 impact on the operations of the railway? Pubs Closure Clearly … More ELR Covid 19 Update – 21 October 2020- ELR to keep Steaming!

Following the introduction of Tiered restrictions the ELR will of course adhere to any regulations that may be introduced which will impact on our operations. As from tomorrow (14 October) both Lancashire and Greater Manchester are in Tier 2, which means for now we can continue with our planned activities, while the rule of six … More ELR Covid 19 Update – 13 October 2020

Headlines Majority of staff still furloughed to keep operating costs to a minimum. All additional Covid 19 guidance updated and installed. ELR Restructure and Redundancies Diners for 2020 and 2021 Covid capacity at 75% tickets on sale – Dining with Distinction Santa 2020 Covid capacity at 75% tickets on sale – Santas Halloween Covid capacity … More News from the Boardroom – September 2020

Another ELR landmark was reached today with the relaunch of our Dining with Distinction programme, starting with a Lancastrian Lunch. Massive thanks to Diner Team, Ops staff & volunteers to make today possible. Also thanks to Bury Environmental Services for their support with social distancing and approving our Social Distancing delivery operations. Check out our … More Dining with Distinction-Welcome Back – 6 September 2020

Welcome Back! It can’t have escaped the notice for readers of this blog that this is the first ‘News from the Boardroom’ blog since February when we were pitched into Lockdown on the 23 March, some 22 weeks ago. Interestingly, I have had a quick look again at the February blog which talked about the … More News from the Boardroom – 28 August 2020

However you try to describe the re-opening of the railway today, its was both a relief and also a great ‘behind the scenes’ endeavour. Whilst we had extra Covid 19 measures in place our staff, volunteers and passengers enjoyed a great day travelling behind 80097 Standard 4 which made three trips throughout the day from … More ELR Finally Reopens – A Historic Day – 8 August 2020

PRESS RELEASE East Lancashire Railway Reschedules Re-opening For August 8th The East Lancashire Railway (ELR) has enhanced its safety measures as it prepares to welcome back visitors from Saturday (August 8th). The much-loved heritage attraction had intended to resume passenger services last weekend after closing its doors for four months amid the coronavirus outbreak. But … More ELR Finally to Open-8th August 2020