Vintage Trains has appointed Nick Ralls as its new Managing Director.

Nick’s most recent post has been as Chief Executive Officer of Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, an industrial heritage body which manages museums and historic sites in Shropshire in the northwest Midlands of England.

Previously, he was General Manager of the Severn Valley Railway between 2007 and 2019. This gives him essential experience in the heritage rail sector.

Helen Smith replaced Nick at the Severn Valley Railway when he moved on to the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.

Nick Ralls will take up his new post as Managing Director on 1 February 2025.  

His responsibilities as Managing Director will include developing Vintage Trains’ operations and engineering. The company has declared this to be an exciting time in its history, claiming that it is continuing to build on its accomplishments.  

Vintage Trains is a charity based at Tyseley Locomotive Works in Birmingham in the West Midlands. It runs a heritage engineering workshop that provides services around the country. The workshop also preserves skills from the steam age and trains young people in manufacturing skills.

In 2017, Vintage Trains set up a Community Benefit Society to develop its own train operating company, which is licensed to run express steam trains across the UK. These include The Shakespeare Express between Birmingham and Stratford, Express Steam Trains on the main line railway, and private special trains.

“We are delighted Nick is joining us. We look forward to working with him to build our team and develop our charitable and commercial activities for the benefit of wider and more diverse audiences.”

Michael Whitehouse, Chair, Vintage Trains