Rail Riders, originally called Great Rail Club was a club for young

rail enthusiast A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter (Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rail ...

s run by British Rail in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991. Membership entitled children aged 5-15 to discounted rail travel, receipt of a regular quarterly magazine called ''Rail Riders Express'', and free entry to the Rail Riders World

model railway Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

exhibit at

York railway station York railway station is on the East Coast Main Line serving the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is north of and on the main line it is situated between to the south and to the north. , the station is operated by London North Ea ...

. The organisation used the slogan ''the happiest club in the land'' and ''travel, action, fun!'' During 1981/82 the British Rail Passenger Marketing Services department considered the future promotion of the club. The logo was based on a side-profile of the British Rail Class 370 Advanced Passenger Train (APT), and a knitting pattern for a pullover with the logo was made by Robin wools. The club closed in 1991. On 8 October 2019 it was announced that a new club, unconnected with the original, would revive the 'Rail Riders' name and would be launched in February 2020, nearly 30 years after the original club closed.

Mileage competition

The club ran an annual mileage competition. In 1989, this competition was won by Jonathan Carter, who set a world record of travelled by train in one year.

Rail Riders World

The Rail Riders World model railway was opened by British Rail in April 1984 inside the old tea rooms at

. It was advertised by British Rail as "Britain's best model railway". Following the

privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the indust ...

the layout was sold off. It was subsequently renamed York Model Railway. In 2011, the model railway exhibit was moved by its owner William Heron to a new location in Hemswell Cliff in Lincolnshire.

Locomotives

The club sponsored two Class 47 locomotives, one from 1981 to 1988 and another from 1988 to 1992. These were 47406 ''Rail Riders'' and 47488 ''Rail Riders''. Locomotive 47406 was named by nine-year-old competition winner David Atkins at

Newcastle Central station Newcastle Central Station (also known simply as Newcastle and locally as Central Station) is a major railway station in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the East Coast Main Line, around north of . It is the primary national rail station ...

on 10 December 1981 with an additional full-colour circular plate with the Rail Riders logo added on 12 November 1985 in recognition of increasing membership numbers. In May 1988 the plates were removed in preparation for installation on locomotive 47488, which took place on 9 August 1988 at Crewe Diesel TMD with the plates removed in August 1992.

Bachmann Bachmann is a surname of Switzerland and Germany. It originates as a description of the bearer as dwelling near a brook (''Bach''), such as a farm "Hofstatt am Bach" also called "Bachmanns Hofstatt" near Hinwil or Dürnten (recorded 1387), or the ...

produced a run of 512

OO gauge OO gauge or OO scale (also, 00 gauge and 00 scale) is the most popular standard-gauge model railway standard in the United Kingdom, outside of which it is virtually unknown. OO gauge is one of several 4 mm-scale standards (4 mm to 1 foot, ...

models for Gaugemaster of 47406 ''Rail Riders'' in British Rail Intercity livery.

References

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External links

Examples of Rail Riders ephemera
British Rail Clubs and societies in the United Kingdom Model railroads 1979 establishments in England Organizations established in 1979