{"id":309433,"date":"2025-10-31T01:20:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T15:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=184760"},"modified":"2025-10-31T01:20:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T15:20:47","slug":"poppy-seller-raises-thousands-on-two-day-rail-marathon-to-mark-ten-years-of-fundraising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=309433","title":{"rendered":"Poppy seller raises thousands on two-day rail marathon to mark ten years of fundraising"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Poppy seller Denis Scaife, a well-known face on the East Coast Main Line, has completed his biggest fundraising challenge to date as he celebrates ten years of the \u2018Poppy Express\u2019 with the open access operators Lumo<\/a> and Hull Trains<\/a>.<\/p>\n

74-year-old Denis, alongside his wife Barbara, took on a poppy selling marathon which saw them fundraising onboard Hull Trains and Lumo services from Retford to London King\u2019s Cross, followed by Newcastle and Edinburgh and then all the way back again in the space of just two days.<\/p>\n

Both open access operators are proud supporters of their local communities, as well as the Armed Forces. They are once again joining other rail companies in offering free travel<\/a> to veterans across the country as part of national remembrance efforts.<\/p>\n

Lumo and Hull Trains organised a special treat for Denis and his wife upon their arrival in Scotland, with an exclusive invitation for them to attend a Scottish Poppy Appeal reception at Holyrood. There they heard about Poppyscotland\u2019s vital work with the Armed Forces, as well as meeting fellow fundraisers.<\/p>\n

Denis started the \u2018Poppy Express\u2019 ten years ago with just him and his wife. It has now grown into an institution with 15 volunteers travelling along the East Coast Main Line to raise money every year. 2024\u2019s efforts raised more than \u00a315,000, with hopes 2025 will exceed that amount as \u00a311,000 has already been achieved.<\/p>\n

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Denis is a former Non-Commissioned Officer (sapper) with the Corps of Royal Engineers and his passion for the cause is clear. Reflecting on the challenge, he said:<\/strong> <\/strong>\u201cHull Trains have stood by me and the Royal British Legion\u2019s Poppy Appeal right from the start and it\u2019s always a privilege to sell poppies to the friendly and generous customers onboard. Our poppy marathon, this time teaming up with Lumo as well, has been a really special way to mark ten years of fundraising.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving the chance to attend the Scottish Poppy Appeal reception was a unique opportunity and a special moment for myself and Barbara. I\u2019d like to thank both Lumo and Hull Trains for their amazing support and here\u2019s to many more years to come!\u201d<\/p>\n

Stuart Jones, Managing Director of First Rail Open Access, said: <\/strong>\u201cAs open access operators, we’re proud to be deeply rooted in the communities we serve. Denis\u2019s dedication to the Poppy Appeal embodies the very best of community spirit and we are honoured to support him in such a meaningful cause. I\u2019d like to wish Denis a huge congratulations for completing ten years of fundraising and, in particular, this impressive challenge!\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard Todd, National Poppy Appeal Manager \u2013 Scotland, said:<\/strong> \u201cIt was lovely to welcome Denis and Barbara firstly at Edinburgh Waverley Station as the arrived off their train and later at our Edinburgh reception event and to get the chance to thank them both personally for their volunteer fundraising over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have gone above and beyond for the Armed Forces community, covering thousands of miles and raising thousands of pounds. Already they look to be on course to smash their target this year, which is absolutely amazing. On behalf of Poppyscotland, a huge thank you again to Denis and Barbara.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 531 miles from Retford to Edinburgh via London King\u2019s Cross, Denis\u2019s total journey covers more than 1,000 miles and was fuelled by unlimited refreshments and snacks onboard the Lumo and Hull Trains services operating as the Poppy Express. It also coincides with London Poppy Day 2025 on the 30th October.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Poppy seller Denis Scaife, a well-known face on the East Coast Main Line, has completed his biggest fundraising challenge to date as he celebrates ten years of the \u2018Poppy Express\u2019 with the open access operators\u00a0Lumo\u00a0and\u00a0Hull Trains. 74-year-old Denis, alongside his wife Barbara, took on a poppy selling marathon which saw them fundraising onboard Hull Trains [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"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-309433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-interest","category-rail-news","category-train-operating-companies","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=309433"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":309794,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309433\/revisions\/309794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=309433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=309433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=309433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}