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RPSI
40th Anniversary
The 40th
Anniversary Grand Gala Dinner
Sat 2nd
October 2004
A pictorial and written look at the
major key event of our 40th Anniversary year.
Pictures by Mark Walsh, Tony Ragg.
Words by Robin Morton.
Download
the 40th Anniversary Gala Dinner brochure.
Page two - The 40th Anniversary Dinner
(click here to
go back to page one)
With rain clouds threatening, the guests
made their way the short distance from Cultra station to the museum, where
they emerged onto the balcony overlooking the Irish Transport Collection.
What a sight greeted them. As the enchanting music of the Grosvenor Grammar
School string quartet gently wafted over the gallery, guests gazed down
to see that where No.74 "Dunluce Castle" normally sits, 25 tables and a
stage had been erected. With the dining area ringed by the museum's prime
exhibits, chief of which must be No.800 "Maedhbh", the setting was superb.
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Dr Garret FitzGerald (RPSI Vice President),
Lord O'Neill (RPSI President), Sir Kenneth Bloomfield (RPSI Vice President)
and Lady Elizabeth Bloomfield enjoy a pre-dinner drink.
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Guests were welcomed by Marshall McKee,
Managing Director of the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, which had
kindly waived the charge for hire of the venue as a contribution to the
night. Noting that the UFTM was also celebrating its 40th birthday this
year, Mr McKee congratulated the Society on its achievements. He said there
could be no more fitting venue for the gala dinner than the Irish Railway
Collection.
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As guests strolled round the
balcony admiring the scene below, their eyes were caught by the magnificent
RPSI 40 banners which were displayed from the balustrade. The banners,
which featured line drawings of No.171 and No.461 (in green livery as carried
on the O-gauge model built by RPSI founder member, the late Drew Donaldson
and also on display in the museum) with an RPSI-1964 logo in between, were
based on drawings by James Friel, son of Charles Friel, to whom our thanks
are due. Another banner proclaimed that the event was the RPSI's 40th anniversary
dinner (no doubt it will be a prize in the ballot at RPSI 50!).
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Guests descended the ramp to
the lower level to be offered an aperitif at a drinks reception sponsored
by Translink as they took in their surroundings.
Glynis McAteer and friends enjoy their
starter.
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A table plan guided people to their
tables, each of which was named after an Irish railway company.
The Richards and Peter Scott.
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Never has the gallery looked so well
and as friends met and greeted each other, many of them after a gap of
many years, there was a chance to reminisce and catch up.
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The event attracted a capacity
attendance of 250, including groups from the Republic and Britain, with
a full table of 10 being taken by members of the Heritage Railways Association.
Sam Somerville and friends enjoying their
starter.
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On the tables, guests found a special
souvenir menu, and gifts including a miniature bottle of Bushmills whiskey
(sponsored by Dillon Bass), a Translink Parker pen, and a presentation
pack of chocolates. Each table was decorated with a floral arrangement.
Mr and Mrs Denis Campbell and friends.
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The UFTM's Marketing team, Louise
Thompson and Ken Gillen enjoy their starter with RPSI photographer for
the evening, Tony Ragg.
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RPSI stalwarts Gordon and Robert
prepare to tuck into their starter at the "RPSI workers" table.
Charles Friel from the RPSI 40 committee,
who was acting as master of ceremonies, added his welcome to guests, and
said it was particularly gratifying to see so many founder members present.
He drew attention to the ballot for the No.461 restoration fund and appealed
to those present to be as generous as possible. He thanked the sponsors
of the prizes, who included NITHCo-Translink, the UFTM and AMARC catering.
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The rest of the workers table enjoy
their meal prior to the main speeches of the night.
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Guests enjoy the start of the speeches.
The Gala banner can be clearly seen on the overhead walkway.
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The Lord O'Neill spoke of his
pleasure at finally meeting Dr FitzGerald. He reflected on the importance
of the Irish Railway Collection to the museum scene in Northern Ireland,
and praised his vice-president, Sir Ken Bloomfield, for the part he had
played in promoting the move of the collection from Witham Street to Cultra.
But he said an extension was now urgently
needed for the museum.
The dinner, he said, was the final event
in what had been a busy year of celebrations for the Society. In June the
book "Forty Shades of Steam" had been launched at Central Station, while
in July No.186 had been launched at Whitehead. Recalling the meeting at
which the Society had been formed, he said one of the great strengths of
the RPSI had been the fact that it had always been an all-Ireland body.
On the whole, he said, north-south relations
had been harmonious, and on this score the Society had done somewhat better
than the politicians. Lord O'Neill noted that 40 years after his late uncle,
Terence O'Neill, had been pilloried for meeting a Taoiseach, such meetings
now appeared to be in vogue.
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Lord O'Neill said that in the
early days, when the RPSI ran just two or three trains a year, nobody had
any idea that it would grow to become such a substantial body. He said
the Society owed much of its success to the voluntary endeavours of its
members, some of whom must have spent a large amount of their lives at
Whitehead or Mullingar.
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Lord O'Neill said thanks were
due to the UFTM for making the museum available and for helping in the
organisation of the event. He also expressed gratitude to Translink and
Iarnród Éireann for facilitating the Society's activities
on the modern railway. He then voiced appreciation to the various sponsors
who had helped make the evening possible.
Lord O'Neill then invited the Rev Canon
John McKegney from Armagh to say grace. Dinner was then served.
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From back to front, left to
right, Tim Morton, John Wolsey, Alan McRobert, John and Vera Lockett, Mark
Heron, Philip and Lynsey Lockett, Oonagh Keag, Tim and Catherine Lockett
enjoy their meal and toast the RPSI.
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Also on board were some of the
Society's special guests for the night, who included Dr Joan Smyth, the
chairman of the NI Transport Holding Company, Keith Moffatt, the chief
executive of Translink, Dick Fearn, chief operating officer of Iarnród
Éireann, Mal McGreevy, general manager (rail) with Translink, Jimmy
Doody, carriage officer with Iarnród Éireann and Gregg Ryan,
the heritage officer of IÉ.
Here Dr Smyth, Keith Moffatt and RPSI 40th
Convenor Robin Morton enjoy a chat.
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Founder members Tim Morton and
HRA (Ireland) Chairman John Lockett reminsce on the achievements of 40
years.
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Before the desserts were served,
Charles Friel invited John Harcourt, first chairman of the RPSI, and Norman
Foster, current chairman, onto the platform to cut the RPSI 40 birthday
cake. This task was performed to much acclaim.
During the coffee break the ballot envelopes
were collected. Then Lady Bloomfield was invited to draw the five winners
from the hat.
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After the meal, Dr Garret FitzGerald
took to the rostrum, praising the volunteers who kept the Society's wheels
turning. To applause, he said he was aware that a heavy burden fell on
the shoulders of the locomotive squad, under the dedicated leadership of
Peter Scott.
Dr FitzGerald thanked the railway companies
for their co-operation but expressed concern that the number of qualified
steam drivers had now been reduced to three. He said he hoped that the
situation could be addressed.
The former Taoiseach said that all his
life, he had been fascinated by all forms of transport, but particularly
by rail and air. He said that from the age of 12 he had been a collector
of airline timetables, and then produced some of the finer items from his
collection. These dated back, he said, to the days when it took 22.5 hours
to travel from New York to Foynes, a route which was at that time the only
air link between the United States and Europe.
As a boy, he said, he remembered many trips
by train in Ireland, including an 11-hour trip from Dublin to Bantry which
he undertook in 1941. At one time, he said, he had worked out that in Ireland
there were 17 different sets of points which were served by two railway
companies. He also listed towns and cities served by more than one railway
company, such as Cookstown and Londonderry.
Dr FitzGerald recalled that during his
spell as Irish Foreign Affairs Minister, he had presided over a meeting
in Leningrad which had necessitated a trip on the Red Train from there
to Moscow. He teased his hosts by pointing out that the journey took the
same time then as it had done in 1914 - five and a half hours.
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Next up were Philip Lockett
and Gerry Mooney, two of the youngest members of the RPSI council. Philip
said that the Society's level of activity had increased vastly in recent
years and this year, for example, there had already been 32 public mainline
trains and were a further 28 to go. In Northern Ireland, the Society was
now carrying around 10,000 passengers a year, many of them being first-time
visitors to the province.
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The RPSI, he said, was a family, but
it was also a professional organisation. Its assets were its locomotives
and its carriages but also its members. While paying tribute to the "old
giffers" who had formed the Society, he said the age profile of the RPSI
was a cause for concern. More young people had to be encouraged to join
the Society and work on the engines and carriages, and to work in the dining
car and on fund-raising if the future was to be secured.
Gerry Mooney also highlighted the
need for more volunteers in all aspects of the Society's activities.
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He said the challenge facing the Society
was to encourage people to come on board to keep the RPSI going for the
next 40 years.
Charles Friel then brought proceedings
to a close, and guests departed to Cultra station, where the steam train
was waiting to convey them back to Belfast and Lisburn.
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At Cultra station, Ashley pulls forward
some coal for the journey home.
The train required 4 NIR employees and
12 RPSI volunteers to operate successfully. They deserve great credit
for giving up their dinner to ensure such a magical train could operate.
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Back on the platform Philip Lockett,
John Wolsey and Dermot Mackie soak up the atmosphere.
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Click here
to go back to page one
I hope this has given you a sense of the
pride that is felt by the RPSI members who have been involved over the
last 40 years.
This
is not an exclusive club - come and join us?
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on the RPSI logo (above) to go to the RPSI Homepage
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