No history of Kirklees Green Party would be complete without a chapter on the Green Express. It was in 1989 that Huddersfield Green Party ran their first charter train up the Settle Carlisle Line which was under threat of closure at the time. Our train (a DMU for train fans) was all part of a campaign to keep the line open. Since then there have been countless charter trains going all over the country, Edinburgh, Brighton, Dundee, Carlisle, Bath.
Of course the driving force for this was our first Green Party Councillor Nick Harvey now the proprietor of Green Express Railtours though the link with the Green Party is still strong with Clive Lord OLG (Oldest Living Green) organising the Green Party fundraising trips. Beer and Sandwiches are also important, not for negotiations with Trade Unions but as a source of revenue from our train trips.
There's a lot of olde world charm in taking a trip on old diesel locos while drinking hand pulled real ale. There's a whole team of people who make Green Express happen. Those who make the sandwiches, sell tea and coffee off the trolley or transport all the paraphenalia at the beginning and end of trips. I've done a bit of stewarding on the trains over the years and enjoy it once or twice a year (I did a lot in the early years). So why not go on one? The next is to Eton and Windsor on Thursday 10th June. You can go to Eton to see where our Prime Minister went to school! (or go down the road to the state run primary school and see where my better half went to school!)
Full details of Green Express Charter Trains here
http://www.greenexpressrailtours.co.uk/id11.html
(Pictured Nicky and Adrian Cruden on the Green Express with Mark Mullany in the background.)
No comments:
Post a Comment