Northern and Direct Rail Services said farewell to the Class 37s in Cumbria recently with a charity farewell service.

The train operator has now announced that this special train helped to raise more than £6,000 for Cancer Research UK and Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association (LDSAMRA).

Almost 200 tickets were available for the event, with three times that amount of people registering their interest to attend.

A raffle on board the train also took place, with Northern and DRS offering a driver-cab experience along with special prizes, including a replica of the train’s headboard.

What did the officials say?

Andrew Williams, Regional Improvement Manager at Northern, said:

“The Class 37 Cumbria Finale special train was a fantastic opportunity to offer rail enthusiasts a last chance to ride behind these veteran locomotives in Cumbria, while also raising money for two very worthy charitable organisations.

“Both Cancer Research UK and the twelve Mountain Rescue Teams that make up the Lake District Search & Mountain Rescue Association undertake fantastic work and Northern is immensely proud to be able to support our local communities in this way.”

Andrew added: “I’d like to thank everyone at DRS for helping make this special service a reality and, of course, colleagues at Northern who worked hard behind the scenes to ensure that the event was successfully delivered on the day.”

Vikki Bassek, Local Fundraising Manager for Cancer Research UK said:

“Thank you so much to Northern and DRS for nominating Cancer Research UK to receive this fantastic donation.

“Cancer Research UK is pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.  During the past 40 years survival has doubled thanks to the great progress research has made. We couldn’t do any of this without the support of amazing people and businesses who put so much effort into fundraising for us – Together, we will beat cancer!”

John Bamforth, Treasurer for LDSAMRA, said:

“The Association expresses sincere thanks to Northern and DRS for their very kind donation. LDSAMRA relies totally on donations to support the work of the 12 Lake District mountain rescue teams and this is an unexpected but very welcome addition to our funds.”

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