Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership (CRP) recently welcomed 22 members of the Prudhoe Scouts and 1 Stocksfield Guide to the Old Booking Office at Haltwhistle Station as part of Rail Safety Week.

Rail Safety Week aims to bring rail safety to the forefront of people’s minds across a dedicated week (this year from the 26 June to 2 July), keeping safety firmly in the spotlight and allowing individuals and organisations from across the rail industry to share ideas and best practice.

Fiona Forsythe, Tyne Valley CRP’s Community Rail Officer, had visited the Prudhoe Scouts the previous autumn, and together with the Leaders felt that the group would benefit from some more engaging and in-depth learning about the dangers associated with the railway.

The evening was structured around several core activities for the young people. Firstly, the group visited the old signal box at Haltwhistle Station to understand what signallers do, why the barriers at Prudhoe are down for so long before a train arrives, and why it is dangerous to try and race the level crossing barriers.

The Scouts also took a walk to explore the interesting architecture of the Alston Arches and found out more about how to be aware of vulnerable people around the railways, and how to help with suicide awareness.

On board the train back to Prudhoe, the young people were asked to complete an entry form for the Backtrack competition and also watched the compelling Harrison’s Story video.

John Beedle, Press Officer for Tyne Valley CRP, said: “We were so impressed at the quality of the young people’s Backtrack entries. We offered prizes and the winning Scouts have been presented with Tyne Valley CRP goodie bags.

“The Backtrack entries, feedback forms from the Scouts, and the comments from the Scout Leaders have demonstrated that the young people ‘got the message’ and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

“A big thanks to Simon and Craig from Network Rail for opening the signal box, and to everyone who contributed to making the evening such a success.”

Keep up to date with future news, projects, and events from Tyne Valley CRP via their website.