Quattro Donates RRV to Dean Forest Railway Society

The Dean Forest Railway is a four-and-a-half-mile heritage railway running between Lydney and Parkend in the Forest of Dean. The railway runs along the last remaining part of the old Severn & Wye Railway network, which was first built as a tramroad over 200 years ago.

A trip back in time on the vintage railway is one of the only ways to access the verdant woodland where awe-inspiring views of ancient trees, wildlife and archaeological ruins from early iron workings.  The train takes visitors through a natural world of beauty with picturesque views of the valley of the River Lyd, which has been described by Society Trustee Adam Williams as ‘Truly one of the hidden gems of the forest.’  

With less people travelling abroad due to the pandemic, the DFR has become a very popular visitor attraction, and, in recent years, has experienced a record number of visitors. However increasing services to cope with public demand have impacted the need for further maintenance, and the Society looked to Quattro for advice.

‘Some of the concrete sleepers we have on the line were manufactured as early as the Second World War, with a lot from the period immediately afterwards. We felt it was time to get a bit of expert mechanical help on the line and reached out to Quattro, who immediately stepped in with a generous donation of a Road Rail Vehicle to help us with our renewal and replacement works.’

Trevor Hartnett, Regional Rail Director for Quattro was on hand to oversee the donation:  ‘We’re very familiar with the DFR and are always testing machines in that area.  The Society does important work in giving people the experience of a heritage railway and we’re more than happy to help them preserve and maintain it with the donation of this RRV.’

‘We have a trailer and are now currently looking at attachments for the new RRV that will be the most effective at getting our jobs done’, adds Adam Williams, with great anticipation.  ‘We will be ready to start putting it to work next month.’

The RRV will help to mechanise a lot of the maintenance of the track, lifting and shifting materials and renewing and replacing sleepers on the line.  The machine will replace some of the manual labour that hard working volunteers were doing by hand, lifting, and lugging materials.

‘There’s something incredibly special about being in the vintage carriages, just like you’re travelling through the 1950s’, says Trevor Hartnett, underpinning the importance of maintaining the heritage site. ‘It’s simply a lovely little railway. It’s a real step back in time with these old engines.’

Quattro will also be providing familiarisation training on the RRV as well as health and safety training.

‘It’s difficult not to feel like a kid in a sweet shop’, says Trustee Adam, in anticipation of the training. ‘I’ve seen the RRV, I’ve got the key for it, but I haven’t actually climbed in it! I’ll leave that feeling for the training.’

The DFR Society became a registered charity on 22nd May 2019, and Society members have been running heritage trains since the 1971.  The charity is concerned with the preservation, development and restoration of the DFR, together with the education of the public in the history of the railways in the Forest of Dean.

John Murphy, MD of Quattro adds: 

‘We’re more than happy to donate the RRV to our friends at the DFRS.  If Quattro can assist in any way to maintain the Railway in the future, we will.  I’m looking forward to seeing the Quattro RRV at work.  I may just choo-choose one of the DFR’s many enjoyable train rides while I’m there!’

Back: John Murphy, Adam Williams (Trustee, Dean Forest Railway Society)
Middle: Mark Stone, Bob Browning, Roger Phelps (Operational Liaison Manager, Dean Forest Railway Co. Ltd), Trevor Hartnett, Adam Dickinson (Chairman, Forest of Dean Railway Ltd), Tim McLennan (Treasurer, Dean Forest Railway Society), Alastair Clarke (Chairman, Dean Forest Railway Society), David Moss
Front: Jason Petersen

POSTSCRIPT:  We at Quattro were devastated to learn of the sudden loss of Roger Phelps, pictured here with Trevor Hartnett on the day of the donation.  Our thoughts are with his family and friends as well as his DFR family.  Our friend, you will be greatly missed.

https://www.dfrsociety.org.uk

https://deanforestrailway.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DFRSociety

https://www.facebook.com/deanforestrailway

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