Today’s been one where I’ve managed to cut myself off from the troubles of the world (and the results of the American election) to concentrate on something uplifting. Right now I’m knee-deep in judging the Community Rail Awards 2025 entries, specifically the ‘It’s your station’ category. We’ve had 39 entries this year, many of them from stations which have never applied before. I’ve spent the day reading through the submissions, checking the information supplied and doing my first sift of the entries to see which categories they fall into. Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum. I can assure you, it’s nor all about station gardens either. Here’s some of the winners from this years Community Rail Awards.

As always, there’s some fantastic entries. Most of the stations I’m familiar with as I’ve visited them some time in the past (or even recently), a few I don’t really know at all. It doesn’t matter as we judge on the entries, some of which are incredibly inspiring as they showcase the best of the areas they represent and the total cross-section of people involved. Sometimes it’s easy to become jaded and cynical. These people, their achievements and their commitments to their communities restore your faith in humanity – something very much needed right now!

So, today’s picture is a reflection of what I’m seeing, although it’s not from a station that’s entered this year. These are some of the fantastic local history boards on display at Marple station in Cheshire.

I’ve a gallery dedicated to community rail on my Zenfolio picture website. You can find it here.

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