If, like us, trains mean a little bit more to you than simply a means of getting from A to B, this charity raffle is something you won’t want to miss out on.
Two steam train enthusiasts, Chris Hunford and Ben Coughlan, have organised a charity raffle, inviting two people to drive a steam train at the Bluebell Railway, planned for the afternoon of Saturday 12th September.
The world famous Bluebell Railway originally opened in 1882 and runs for 11 miles along the border between East and West Sussex. It then reopened years later in 1960, less than three years after the East Grinstead to Lewes line was closed by British Railways.
It became the first preserved standard gauge steam-operated passenger railway to operate a public service in the world and it could be about to get even more special for one lucky raffle winner.
The winner and their friend will be able to fire the engine, build steam pressure, blow the whistle and be in control of a 200 tonne train on a 22-mile round trip through the Sussex countryside.
It’ll cost you just £5 a raffle ticket to enter and all of the proceeds will go to Costain’s, an engineering company, 150 Challenge charity appeal. The aim is to raise £1million for the Costain Charitable Foundation’s four charities: British Heart Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support, The Prince’s Trust and Samaritans.
This is an amazing prize, one that train enthusiasts dream of, as well as being for an amazing cause.
To buy a ticket and ‘be in it to win it’, please visit Ben and Chris’s JustGiving page.
