{"id":232947,"date":"2025-06-10T18:38:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T08:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=178471"},"modified":"2025-06-10T18:38:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T08:38:32","slug":"northern-engineers-bring-old-train-back-to-life-for-schoolchildren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=232947","title":{"rendered":"Northern engineers bring old train \u2018back to life\u2019 for schoolchildren"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Engineers working for Northern have brought an old train back to life for a group of schoolchildren, so they can learn about the railways and take turns pretending to drive.<\/p>\n

The Pacer train was donated to The Dales School in Blyth and lifted onto a short section of track, after it was taken out of service by Northern.<\/p>\n

The specialist school, for children with additional needs, converted the carriages into a library and a classroom where they can learn about engineering and technology.<\/p>\n

Experienced engineers and apprentices from Northern\u2019s Heaton TrainCare Centre then volunteered to fix leaks in the roof, install a walkway over the track and restore the power supply in the old train.<\/p>\n

Working over weekends and school holidays, they reactivated the wipers, headlights, signal buzzer and fan in the driver\u2019s cab, so the children can operate them by pressing buttons which light up.<\/p>\n

They have also restored the train\u2019s public address system, so the pupils can make announcements on board and the school said therapists will use this “valuable resource” to develop their speech and language skills. <\/p>\n

It comes after a monitor was installed in the cab at the opposite end of the train, allowing children to play Train Sim World 4.<\/p>\n

The school, near the new Northumberland Line, said children can now participate in enjoyable and interactive lessons about rail safety on board the Pacer train, learn about the hazards of trespassing and consider a future career in the railways. <\/p>\n

James Groundwater, outdoor learning teacher at the school said: \u201cWe are extremely grateful to Northern. They have shown how fantastic their organisation is by going above and beyond to help us with the train project.<\/p>\n

\u201cEngineers from Heaton depot have made sure the train is watertight and made it come to life.”<\/p>\n

Garry Roseby, manager of Heaton TrainCare Centre, said he is \u201cextremely proud\u201d of the engineers who gave up their time to create an interactive driving cab for the children.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cAs most of the components needed for the unit are now obsolete, the team provided materials, expertise and extra resources, while producing the relevant risk assessment to make it easy for the school to manage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has also given the apprentices an opportunity to work on the legacy fleet which has served the North East so well over the years, allowing them to develop their skills on a different electrical and mechanical system.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur next visit is scheduled to be in late July, when we will be fitting the guttering to the train roof to reduce the risk of water entering the windows.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pacer train was donated to the school by the rolling stock company Porterbrook in 2020 and Network Rail also agreed to provide a short section of track.<\/p>\n

The school’s project was featured on George Clark’s Channel 4 show Amazing Spaces in 2023, and it also received last year’s Love Northumberland award.<\/p>\n

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,650 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.<\/p>\n

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Image credit: Northern<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Engineers working for Northern have brought an old train back to life for a group of schoolchildren, so they can learn about the railways and take turns pretending to drive. The Pacer train was donated to The Dales School in Blyth and lifted onto a short section of track, after it was taken out of [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16013,47,16016,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-232947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-interest","category-rail-news","category-train-operating-companies","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t