Good News Friday: A weekly roundup of positive rail news!

All Aboard The Stottie Train As Big River Bakery and Lumo Bring North East Favourite To East Coast Travellers

The open-access train operator, Lumo, who run an all-electric fleet of inter-city trains between Edinburgh and London, with stops at Morpeth and Newcastle,  teamed up with Big River Bakery and North of Tyne Combined Authority to launch the inaugural National Stottie Cake Week in style. Passengers were treated to a delicious slice of North East culture, as the company’s Customer Ambassadors serve up a range of handmade stottie sandwiches made by the small-batch bakery on Tyneside.

A choice of ham and pease pudding or cheese and pickle stottie cake sandwiches were available for purchase from the LumoEats at-seat trolley service onboard the operator’s lunch time trains, departing Newcastle at 10:51 and 12:51 to London and 13:47 to Edinburgh on Monday through to Friday to celebrate the special week.

The North East staple, a round, dense bread cooked on the bottom of the oven, has become one of the area’s most iconic food stuffs, most commonly found stuffed with ham and pease pudding or cheese savoury (two other North East delicacies). Despite its popularity in the region, the humble stottie is rarely seen outside of the North East. National Stottie week aims to being this piece of North Eastern culture to a wider audience, celebrating the heritage and uniqueness of the region on a national scale.

Shieldfield based Big River Bakery specialise in slow fermented, handmade breads and baked goods made with locally sourced ingredients. They came up with the idea for National Stottie Week in response to the Mayor’s Community Fund, an initiative by North of Tyne Combined Authority to fund ideas which celebrate the region in new ways.

The week is designed to help celebrate the North East icon and raise money for children’s projects, this year supporting CHUF – Children’s Heart Unit Fund, as well as the bakery’s own children’s projects by selling limited edition Scotty the Stottie (the Stottie Cake Week mascot) merchandise and children’s books.

The company have enjoyed great success with their mail order stotties, helping locals and displaced North-easterners alike enjoy a comforting taste of home.

The first-ever National Stottie Cake Week, complete with its larger-than-life mascot Scotty the Stottie will see a series of events and activity happening around the region, funded by North of Tyne Combined Authority and supported by NewcastleGateshead Initiative, who have helped forge the partnership between Big River Bakery and Lumo.

Scotty the Stottie was on hand to deliver the sarnies to the 08:42 Lumo service from Newcastle Central alongside representatives from Big River Bakery, Lumo and North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll – as hungry travellers lined up to sample the stotties on offer on the morning service.

Commenting on the initiative, Martijn Gilbert Managing Director of Lumo said:

“The Stottie Cake is a North-East institution and as a locally based company running train services along the East Coast mainline, National Stottie Cake Week was an obvious thing for us to support and help raise its profile beyond its traditional home. We’re really excited to be helping kick off the week with Scotty the Stottie and take Stottie Cakes to London and Edinburgh, whilst also supporting some great causes”.

Gail Lawler from Big River Bakery is delighted to be able to bring the stottie to a national audience with Lumo:

“We are thrilled with all the support we’ve received for this first ever National Stottie Cake Week. At its heart it’s all about community and celebrating this great North East food icon. We hope to build on this and make National Stottie Cake Week a firm favourite on the calendar for all Geordies both home and abroad for years to come.”

North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll said:

“Our Community Fund puts power back in the hands of local communities. We ask for bright ideas that celebrate our region and improve people’s lives. If enough people support them, we fund them.  Simple as that.

“We’ve already funded Big River Bakery to provide free cookery classes and ‘breakfast bags’ to help children in poverty. Their wonderful team are showing how food can bring communities together.

“Up here we’ve known about the majestic splendour of the Stottie for generations – so we thought it might be time to share this gift with the world.

“Born out of necessity, working-class families used scraps of dough to make a cheap, hearty food that fuelled the workers of our mines and shipyards in the 19^th Century. And when filled with ham & pease pudding, it occasionally fuels the work of this Mayor too!

“The stottie is more than just bread; it’s a slice of North East pride.”

Ian Thomas, Director of Visitor Economy at NewcastleGateshead Initiative said:

Working with our partners to champion our wonderful region is what we’re all about. Bringing together local food champion Big River Bakery and Newcastle-based sustainable travel brand Lumo to showcase our region’s culture and food heritage represents a fantastic opportunity to show travellers what the North East is all about and why it’s such a great place to visit – and eat!”

Blooming lovely award for Todmorden station volunteers

Todmorden in Bloom and Friends of Todmorden Railway Station scooped a Gold award in the 2023 Yorkshire Rose Town Summer Award category.

The volunteers have turned the station into a riot of colour by installing planters, hanging baskets as well as tending to their ‘Lover’s Walk’ garden.

The garden was recreated at the station after it won a bronze medal at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park in the Community Borders category.

It was sponsored by the train operator and was inspired by walks to the town’s local landmark Stoodley Pike, a monument where couples would graffiti dedications to each other.

Visitors to the station can now enjoy a replica of the monument alongside flowers that symbolise romance such as Larkspur, Dahlias, Geraniums and Nigella (Love in a Mist).

Shelia Greenwood,  from Friends of Todmorden and Todmorden in Bloom said: “We are proud and delighted to be representing Yorkshire in this prestigious national competition, it is a huge accolade for a small town like Todmorden and the Calderdale Line. The RHS have recognised our towns strong sense of community spirit, interesting horticulture, sustainability, and environment. We would like to thank Northern for their constant encouragement and all our supporters who have helped make this possible.

Kerry Peters, regional director at Northern, said: “I’d like to thank all our volunteers who have created a beautiful space for everyone to enjoy and for their continued work at Todmorden station.” 

“Our community partners are the heartbeat of the railway and we’re extremely proud to work closely with them to deliver such a wide-ranging positive impact for the north of England.”  

QTS completes initial work for Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland

QTS has recently completed improvement works at the Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus (SBH) Scotland Centre in Cumbernauld.

While carrying out essential resilience works on behalf of Scotland’s Railway at Croy station, the rail contractor reached out to the centre to offer assistance. Through this engagement, the charity’s play area was highlighted as an area for improvement.

SBH Scotland offer a lifetime commitment of support to over 4,000 individuals across the country with a range of services including one-to-one support in homes and schools, financial advice and outings.

From its purpose-built family support centre in Cumbernauld, it is also able to offer health and wellness health checks for adult members, parent and baby support groups and its sensory garden and play area helps encourage children to develop motor skills, help with social interaction and is a brilliant way to calm them when anxious.

A team from QTS worked over several weeks, beginning with de-weeding and power-washing the area before moving on to constructing a small, sheltered area with slabs and a wooden pergola.

Lawrence Cowan, CEO of Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland, said: “The work that QTS has done to help create those spaces where families can feel that sense of belonging, really help their kids feel proud of who they are and make new friends means so much to our families.

“It means so much to our young people who will meet others like them in wheelchairs and with similar conditions, and it will mean so much throughout their lives as well. So, a huge thank you from all of us.”

Chris Blair, Contracts Manager at QTS said: “It’s great to be able to help out in communities like this when we’re working there for an extended period of time. We identified the specialist disability charity as a place we could really make a difference and hopefully the great work the team carried out will do just that.

“We’ve committed to return in the Spring to carry out some further paintwork and essential maintenance within the gardens so all at the centre can fully enjoy the space.”

New artwork at Filey brings colour to station

Artwork by students at Calderdale College has been installed to improve the appearance of some temporary boarding on the doors and windows of the station waiting room as well windows near to the footbridge. 

From scenes of the seafront to passengers enjoying a warming fire in the old waiting room, the creations are a welcoming addition to the station for everyone to enjoy.  

Kerry Peters, regional director at Northern, said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to the incredibly talented students whose artwork now has pride-of-place at the station.  

“It is such a wonderful welcome for anyone using the station.”  

The artwork was installed by the property management service, ISS and Calderdale College and was funded by Northern.

Members of Northern, ISS, and Calderdale College were supported by Yorkshire Coast Community Rail Partnership (YCCRP) and North Yorkshire Council (NYC) whilst installing the artwork, and much needed refreshments were provided by The Saucy Seagull café which is based at Filey station.