The Railway Benefit Fund (RBF) is delighted to confirm that it will be holding its 4th Scottish Dinner at Glasgow’s People’s Palace and Winter Gardens on Friday 8 October, 2010.

In addition to a first class meal set in the elegant Victorian glasshouse with its tropical plants, guests can look forward to a hands-on reception amongst the museum exhibits, great entertainment and spirited ceilidh dancing! They will even be able to marvel at the largest terracotta fountain in the world, The Doulton Fountain, which has been beautifully restored and relocated to the front of the People’s Palace.

Last year’s dinner raised in excess of £18,000 and was attended by guest of honour Stewart Stevenson, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, Sir William McAlpine, the Fund’s president and Lady Judy, businesses and rail related organisations and was compèred by the renowned Scottish referee and lawyer, Willie Young.

Tickets are available at £150 per head or £1,500 for a table of 10, with an early bird booking discount of 10 per cent for those booking prior to 31 July. For all enquiries about the RBF Scottish Dinner, please call Ellie Murphy at Flourish Marketing on 07990 548023 or email ellie@flourishmarketing.co.uk

For further information about the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens, please visit

http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=9 http://www.clydewaterfrontheritage.com/peoplespalaceandwintergardens.aspx

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Note to editors

About the Railway Benefit Fund

The Railway Benevolent Institution is a registered charity No.206312, founded in 1858. It was incorporated by royal charter in 1949 and has a working name of the Railway Benefit Fund since February 2006.

The RBF is a charity for railway people funded by railway people. It was founded to provide support to railway staff (active and retired) and their dependants when they needed help through illness, injury, bereavement, or adversity. It offers help in the following ways:

Annuities and care grants to meet any shortfall in nursing home fees supporting disabled people with the costs of powered vehicles and making life easier for them by providing mobility aids about the home

 Covering the shortfalls in funeral expenses

 Providing child care grants to parents who are suffering long term sickness or who have had to retire early through ill health

 Helping with the costs of higher education, equipment, school clothing etc. for parents with financial problems.

This release was sent on behalf of The Railway Benefit Fund by Woodhouse Communications. For more information, please contact Vicky Leek on 01444 221000 or at Vicky@woodhousecommunications.co.uk

Graham Meiklejohn - or ‘the railway runner’ as he’s fast becoming known - completed the London Marathon in an impressive time of 04:01:37, to raise £5,000 for the Railway Benefit Fund.

An experienced marathon runner and proud supporter of the rail industry’s own charity, Graham, head of communications with rail freight haulier DB Schenker, described his race experience.

He said: “I was honoured to run the marathon for the Railway Benefit Fund, and have been touched by the generous donations that people and companies have made.

“A small bit of leg pain and a bizarre way of walking for 48 hours after the finish line was a small price to pay for such a worthy cause!”

Richard Wilson, the charity’s vice president, and its chairman David Allen greeted Graham at the finish line, both mightily impressed with just how cool he seemed after such a strenuous run.

As David commented: “Graham’s achievement is a magnificent boost for the work we are doing at the RBF, we can not thank him enough for all his efforts.”

Graham is on track to raise over £5,000 but there’s still time to add to the total. To sponsor Graham’s run, please visit the Just Giving site at:

http://www.justgiving.com/therailwayrunner?pid=2313402&dtpn=4&ShortUrl=therailwayrunner#DonationTable

Not content with raising £5k from one marathon, Graham is already looking ahead to next year.

He suggests that railway people seek to become ‘railway runners’ themselves for the 2011 London Marathon.

“Why don’t we have a whole army of runners” said Graham – “after all we’re helping our own people by raising funds for this charity, so anyone lucky enough to get a place through the public ballot should pledge to raise at least £1,000 for the RBF.”

The public ballot opened on 4 May. For further information, go to

http://www.virginlondonmarathon.com/marathon-centre/enter-virgin-london-marathon/

Also raising money for the Railway Benefit Fund was Simon King, relationship manager at Woodhouse Communications, who completed the Brighton Marathon just one week before in an impressive time of 4hours 22 minutes.

To support Simon, please visit http://www.justgiving.com/brightonrunner

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Note to editors:

Photo: David Allen, Richard Wilson and Graham Meiklejohn.

About the Railway Benefit Fund

The Railway Benevolent Institution is a registered charity No.206312, founded in 1858. It was incorporated by royal charter in 1949 and has a working name of the Railway Benefit Fund since February 2006.

The RBF is a charity for railway people funded by railway people. It was founded to provide support to railway staff (active and retired) and their dependants when they needed help through illness, injury, bereavement, or adversity. It offers help in the following ways:

Annuities and care grants to meet any shortfall in nursing home fees supporting disabled people with the costs of powered vehicles and making life easier for them by providing mobility aids about the home

 Covering the shortfalls in funeral expenses

 Providing child care grants to parents who are suffering long term sickness or who have had to retire early through ill health

 Helping with the costs of higher education, equipment, school clothing etc. for parents with financial problems

This release was sent on behalf of The Railway Benefit Fund by Woodhouse Communications. For more information, please contact Vicky Leek on 01444 221000 or at Vicky@woodhousecommunications.co.uk

Date: 21 January 2010

Railway Benefit Fund Raises Over £20,000 on Ebay

Harold Wainwright, a former railway man, has raised over £21,500 for the Railway Benefit Fund by selling items of rail memorabilia on Ebay.

Harold, who started fundraising in September 2006, has now sold some 4,000 items through the site.

The most popular items among collectors are anything on the subject of steam while badges also seem to be a favourite. Other items that have been sold include operating publications, working timetables, ties, hardware such as dining items and even out of date uniforms.

Harold lists most items at a starting price of £1, however he achieved a record sale with a rare yardmaster’s cap badge, in the North Eastern colours, which went for an amazing £315.

As Harold says: “It’s interesting to see just how much interest there is out there. As long as friends and ex-colleagues keep donating items, I am happy to sell them for the benefit of the RBF.”

Items mainly come from retired railway people who, after a lifetime of service in the industry, have a number of collectable items they are happy to donate.

Alan Marshall, chairman of the midland area committee, Railway Benefit Fund, said: “It really is incredible what Harold has achieved and we hope his efforts will inspire others to get involved in this kind of fundraising, whether it be selling or donating items.

“The money raised will really be able to make a difference to the work we do at the Railway Benefit Fund and of course buyers can get their hands on some sought after memorabilia in the name of a good cause.”

If you have any items or railway memorabilia you would like to donate to the RBF, please contact Margaret Skerratt on 01270 251316 or at MSkerratt@railwaybenefitfund.org.uk .

Notes for editors

The Railway Benevolent Institution is a registered charity No.206312, founded in 1858. It was incorporated by royal charter in 1949 and has a working name of the Railway Benefit Fund since February 2006.

The RBF is a charity for railway people funded by railway people. It was founded to provide support to railway staff (active and retired) and their dependants when they needed help through illness, injury, bereavement, or adversity. It offers help in the following ways:

Annuities and care grants to meet any shortfall in nursing home fees supporting disabled people with the costs of powered vehicles and making life easier for them by providing mobility aids about the home

Ø Covering the shortfalls in funeral expenses

Ø Providing child care grants to parents who are suffering long term sickness or who have had to retire early through ill health

Ø Helping with the costs of higher education, equipment, school clothing etc. for parents with financial problems

This release was sent on behalf of The Railway Benefit Fund by Woodhouse Communications. For more information, please contact Vicky Leek on 01444 221000 or at Vicky@woodhousecommunications.co.uk

pr: events: publications: internal communications: web services: design: ------------------------------------------

Tel 01444 221000

DD 01444 221006

Mob 07747 150365

Fax 01444 473599

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Progress House 141 Western Road Haywards Heath West Sussex RH16 3LH

The Railway Benefit Fund (RBF), a charity which provides advice, support and financial assistance to railway employees and their families, has today released its appeal film to raise awareness and generate funds. Narrated by Richard Wilson OBE, acclaimed actor and the fund’s vice president since 2007, the film provides background information on the RBF and footage of some of the families it has helped.

David Allen, RBF chairman, says: “Times are hard for everyone at the moment, and especially so for charities. With the current economic climate, we are receiving less income at a time when people need help the most. At the moment we are able to help one person every day, but each year hundreds of railway workers are struggling to cope with issues such as long-term illness, mental and physical disabilities, debt and housing problems. Which is why we need to continue to create awareness of the scale of the problems people are facing.”

The film, which is just over five minutes long, features three interviews with people the charity has helped in recent years. The first introduces Chris, a conductor, who lost both his brother and sister within a few weeks of each other. Struggling to cope with the shock of losing two close family members and the cost of two funerals, the RBF helped Chris with grant to assist with the cost of the funerals.

The second features Alex, a retired signalman, and his wife Edna who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. As Edna’s condition worsened she was finding climbing the stairs to the only toilet in their house impossible and was facing a 12-month waiting list for help from the Council. To help, the RBF paid for a stair lift to be installed immediately.

The third concludes with Billy and his son Eddie who suffers from severe learning difficulties and autism. To help Billy’s family communicate more easily with Eddie, the RBF gave a grant to send Eddie to a specialist treatment centre in the USA, which has subsequently brought the family closer together.

Allen concludes: “The film is a great example not only of the different types of grants we can offer, but of the difference our help has made to people’s lives. In these difficult times we need donations more than ever to be able to continue to offer this support.”

The RBF recently raised in excess of £18,000 at its third Scottish dinner, held at the end of August, which only goes a small way towards meeting the £500,000 annual cost of helping railway families.

To view an excerpt of the film, please visit http://www.railwaybenefitfund.org.uk/ or to obtain a copy please contact, Vicky Leek at Woodhouse Communications on 01444 221000.

Notes to editors:

Please find attached low res jpegs showing the families and individuals who feature in the film. For high res copies or further images please contact Vicky Leek on 01444 221000 or email vicky@woodhousecommunications.co.uk

The Railway Benevolent Institution is a registered charity No.206312, founded in 1858, with Charles Dickens one of its early patrons. They were incorporated by royal charter in 1949 and have a working name of the Railway Benefit Fund since February 2006.

The RBF is a charity for railway people funded by railway people. It was founded to provide support to railway staff (active and retired) and their dependants when they needed help through illness, injury, bereavement, or adversity. It offers help in the following ways:

Ø Annuities where there is low income.

Ø Helping disabled people with the costs of powered vehicles and making life easier for them by providing mobility aids

Ø Covering the shortfalls in funeral expenses

Ø Child care grants to help with the costs of higher education, equipment, school clothing etc. for parents with financial problems.

Ø Helping with the costs of higher education, equipment, school clothing etc. for parents with financial problems

Woodhouse Communications issued this release on behalf of the RBF. For more information contact Vicky Leek of Woodhouse Communications on 01444 473588 or email vicky@woodhousecommunications.co.uk