The Community Rail Network gives advice on how community rail can stay active, productive and positive and continuing to make a difference to our communities, while looking to the future.

They have eight suggestions: some on supporting your communities now, and others about strengthening your position to help community rail redouble its efforts in the future.

Click here to read Community Rail News dated 1 April 2020

Handforth Railway Station is currently exhibiting a unique and rare collection of personally handwritten poetry from the homeless community living on the streets of Manchester.

Outreach worker Ged Austin (known as The Urban Poet) encouraged the rough sleepers to tell their own stories in poetry – he worked alongside them running small workshops in the doorways and colder places. These rare stories archive who the homeless are, how they got there, and how they feel about life.

Ged (shown above presenting the poems and pictures at the station)  has won their trust of these homeless people during the years, and has personally supported them with clothing, much needed provisions, and advice about support services they can access.

On display at Handforth Train Station is a selection of the nearly 100 poems he has collected, over the past 5 years, from the streets of Piccadilly and beyond Manchester’s town center.

Also on display are photographs of the life and hard times that these people endure on the streets of Manchester. The exhibition reveals the real poverty that can overwhelm people who slip through this country’s social net.

Ged said, “The aim of these poems and photos is to show the real human beings behind the arbitrarily-assigned labels of beggar, addict, prostitute. We want to break down stereotyping, showing, for example, how the homeless support each other on the lonely streets. Everyone needs to be aware this could happen to anyone if fate is unkind.

“Sadly, many people are still dying on the streets of Manchester and surrounding areas, but we must always work to help people out of poverty and back into society.”

Hugh Everett, from the Friends of Handforth Station (FoHS) who commissioned this arts project, said  “Our projects at the station normally cover railway-based artwork. In this case, we are keen to promote the community aspects of our work, and do what we can to support the less-privileged members of our society.”

Click here to visit The Friends of Handforth Station

On Sunday 8 March, between sunshine and showers, FOGS members took time out of their regular monthly working party at Goostrey Station to celebrate two events.

First, Bill MacDonald mounted the 2019 Campaigns Award from the Cheshire Best Kept Station competition on the wall of the road bridge beside the Manchester platform.

This Award recognises the negotiations over a number of years which resulted in the repair of the Victorian wooden building.  It’s now displayed alongside four Awards from previous years.

Later that morning a plaque in memory of the late Cyril Caulkin was unveiled by his son Andrew.  It was fitting that Cyril’s brother Keith, two of his grandchildren and several friends were able to be there as well. The plaque reads :

In memory of Cyril Caulkin, founder member of the Friends of Goostrey Station
whose vision initiated the restoration of the old ticket office.

Just before the unveiling, Cyril’s friend Peter Godfrey made a short speech on behalf of FOGS members.

He explained that:

‘As Parish councillors, Cyril and I started Friends of Goostrey Station in 2012.

From then until his untimely death, Cyril was the Chair.

But he was in fact much more than Chair; he was ‘Cyril ’, a larger than life figure, with an infectious smile and a twinkle in his eye, who made every FOGS volunteer feel appreciated and valued. During our Action Days at the station, he would move around from volunteer to volunteer having a chat and a laugh with everyone who had turned up.

After a few words from Cyril, the work seemed easier and the day seemed brighter!

Although some members said that Cyril only did it to get out of the heavy digging which took so much time in those early Action Days, they completely missed the point.  He was the glue that held the group together!’

Peter (pictured with Cyril on the left above) added that:

‘Cyril would have loved to see this station building so beautifully restored.  And he would be delighted that we are still working to improve our station.’

New volunteers are always welcome at our working parties; they take place on the second Sunday from 10am.

As well as gardening and sweeping, FOGS members are involved in planning the future use of the station building, the installation of cycle racks in the car park and the improvement of passenger safety on the bridge.

For more information, please contact Dave Roberts (Vice Chair) on sharp-shooter@talktalk.net