Member’s Day Opening Address
Kidderminster, Severn Valley Railway, 20 April 2026
“In welcoming you to this exclusive Members’ meeting, a lot has happened since the last members meeting in December 2023.
We have seen The Duke move from Tyseley Locomotive Works to Locomotive Services Limited (LSL) of Crewe, where the heavy overhaul was completed, and made mainline ready. We have an agreement with LSL to take care of him, on behalf of the Trust, in respect of ongoing maintenance and, via one of their subsidiary companies, operate him on the mainline.
The Duke has been accepted as a worthy mainline performer, and as such, we have completed the ‘Impossible Dream’ and, as promised, members were able to ride behind him on his first mainline trip.
Three years ago, we advised that the structure that enabled the overhaul to be completed would not be suitable for life as a member of the LSL pool of mainline accredited locomotives, and a new team and structure would be required; the new team is now in place and ready to tackle the challenges that lie ahead.
The time is now right for me to stand down as Trust Chairman and Trustee, effective from today. I would like to thank you all for giving me your full and unwavering support over the last thirty-something years that I have been involved with The Duke. I would like to single out one very special person, my wife Bev, who has given her total support without question and who I am extremely grateful to.
I wish you all an extremely prosperous future.
My very best wishes and thanks.”
Trevor R Tuckley, Now Trustee Emeritus
Trevor Tuckley – An Appreciation
Trevor made it known that he would be stepping down as Trust Chairman when The Duke returned to traffic some time ago, but I never thought it would happen.
Here are some notable things he has done for The Duke.
There have been some key decisions made that I look back on as absolute master strokes.
- Setting the Trust up as a membership organisation was pivotal. This enabled us to generate sufficient cash to fund the overhaul. The Duke’s overhaul has been funded almost entirely by individuals, our Trust members, but it was Trevor who had the foresight to set that up and keep us all focused on it.
- The other aspect that we agreed very early on was that the Trust should be run as a business. Always strive to get good value for money and look for a choice of suppliers and partners that make sense for the Trust.
- On the income side of the Trust, our guiding principle was to treat our members as an extended family. Trevor was instrumental in setting up membership participation, such that people paid whatever contribution they could afford, but we treated everyone equally.
- We were also acutely aware of the requirements of the Charity Commission, where we always need to be aware of the public good in everything that we do. We are the custodians of The Duke, and we need to ensure that we make the locomotive available for as many others as possible to see, hear and marvel at. I know that Trevor has always had these principles in mind and has always wanted the rest of the Trustees to follow those principles too.
Some people in the old Trust believed we would never get the locomotive working again. So, we should thank Trevor for his guidance over many years, helping to prove those doubters wrong and leading us to this point, where we have a resplendent looking, fully working locomotive overhauled to high and exacting standards.
Thank you, Trevor.
Steve Wakeland, Managing Trustee