Rail Riders Club
Sunday, 8 December 2019
An interesting commission has been completed for Simon Buxton of the railway accessory supplier 'Bufferbeam'. Simon is relaunching the Rail Riders Club that was introduced by British Rail in 1981 for young rail enthusiasts. At one point the club boasted 80,000 members including Simon himself. It allowed children between the age of 5 and 15 years to get discounted rail travel and a quarterly magazine. The Club also set an annual rail mileage competition which was won by Jonathan Carter in 1989 after he set a world record after traveling 125,386 miles by train. The Club was disbanded in 1991 but is being relaunched in February 2020 and, this time, will be open to rail enthusiasts of all ages. A number of privileges will be included with membership such as discounts on railway associated products including a 10% discount on all Stuart Black Studio products*.
(* Members simply quote their membership number at check out).
During the 1980s two locomotives were named after the Club - both Class 47 diesels. The first (47406) was named by 9-year old David Atkins at Newcastle station on 10th December 1981. In addition to the nameplates, the locomotives also carried the Rail Riders logo - as shown on the artwork. A modern locomotive may be given the name and logo in the future.
For further information visit the Rail Riders Club on Facebook:
