BLUEBELL RAILWAY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of People Services
Chris comes from a railway family - his grandfather was a signalman on the East Coast Main Line and his father worked on the engineering side of signalling, so railways have always been a topic of interest for him.
Chris has had a varied working career serving in the Royal Air Force and the police in addition to holding various senior HR and Business Change and Transformation roles in both public and private sector organisations such as PwC, Serco, American Express and Mercedes Benz. Chris currently works in the defence industry and has travelled widely with work spending a lot of time on projects in the Far East, South Africa and the USA. He also has significant board level experience in the charity and heritage sectors.
When not working, Chris enjoys shooting, motor cycling and all things steam having for many years been involved in a hands-on role in the preservation of a Burrell Special Scenic Road locomotive.
Job Titles:
- Atlantic Project Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Board Director
- Company Secretary
Graham qualified as a chartered accountant in 1976 and has been in public practice for more than 40 years, mostly in East Grinstead.
He has held numerous offices on the Bluebell Railway starting with the old Extension Committee and Extension Company in 1982, through managing the conversion to a Plc in 1985 as company secretary and director and serving as chairman of Bluebell Railway Plc for 18 years up to 2013.
Graham wrote the original Bluebell Railway Charity Trust deed and served as a Trustee from formation to 2013.
He was chairman of the Northern Extension Project (NEP) leading to the completion of the project and the reconstruction and reopening of the line to East Grinstead in 2013. He now chairs the Western Extension Project (WEP).
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Bulleid Society, Highclere, 28 Houndean Rise, Lewes, Sussex, BN7 1EQ / 9F Club
Job Titles:
- Business Development Manager
Job Titles:
- Operations Director
- Heritage Railway Association Representative
I am Chief Guards Inspector and a Shunter.
I joined the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society in 1990 and started as a volunteer on the day before my 14th birthday in 1991.
I was Commercial Manager for local bus operator Compass Travel with buses operating across Sussex and Surrey and two of its bus routes serve the Bluebell Railway.
I first visited the Bluebell Railway in 1975 on a primary school trip. I still remember the experience and it was a lasting influence on my interest in all things mechanical and engineering. After leaving school, I found myself in one of the last traditional electrical apprenticeships and had a lucky break to move into the technology sector.
I have worked across all aspects of the technology industry from IT infrastructure, application, modernisation and digital use cases for business and the consumer. While a technologist at heart I have had the opportunity to build programs which help people and organisations evolve their culture and simplify technology so it is not seen as a barrier to using it. My current role is with Amazon Web Services where I lead a team of technical architects helping customers adopt the latest Amazon technology and move their business to the cloud.
I really appreciate being involved in organisations which have a community presence. I was the Chairman and Councillor for Cuckfield Parish Council and over nine years was able to deliver on community-based projects for the environment, events, planning and highways. Something I still look back on was saving the local playgroup and village hall from closure.
I am a journalist and broadcaster with 35 years' experience working for local, regional, national and international news organisations spanning print, agency, broadcast, online, digital and social media. I am currently a freelance writer, blogger and lecturer having left my role as an editor at Sky News in 2019.
My involvement with the Bluebell goes back more than 20 years and I have been a visitor, member and volunteer. I am a museum steward and education guide.
I am also an award-winning magician and successfully passed the audition to become a member of the world-famous Magic Circle.
I have worked at director level in the transport industry for nearly 20 years and have also owned my own businesses.
I have been a member and working member of the Bluebell Railway since 1989. I have previously been a Trustee and Operations Director from 2007 to 2010. I was Station Master at Sheffield Park as well as having qualified as a guard, signalman and shunter.
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Communications Manager
Job Titles:
- Safety Director
- Member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries
Simon is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators that has over 40 years of experience at board level.
He has some ten years' experience as the Company Secretary with responsibility of health and safety and insurance of two FTSE 200 leisure companies during which he was also an adviser on corporate governance issues to the ICSA and the London Stock Exchange.
He also spent over eleven years in the Middle East where he completed a 2-year assignment as head of the health funding project for the Government of Dubai as well as holding positions as the Company Secretary of The Jumeirah Group, Senior Executive Officer of Dubai Holding Insurance Services LLC and Head of Compliance for ADNEC and Company Secretary of Excel in London. In each of these, he was responsible for the Health & Safety and insurance functions.
From October 2011 he ran his own small consultancy business based in the in the UK but is now largely retired.
Simon is currently a volunteer as a member of the platform staff at Sheffield Park and has started guard training in September.
He's very much looking forward to working with the Board and the wider team at the Bluebell Railway to create a world class facility with a sustainable business model.
Steve has been a finance director for various companies covering different sectors including housebuilding, recruitment, oil and gas, and most recently mergers and acquisitions.
He led commercial strategy at group board level for an international services consultancy, and was responsible for finance, commercial and resources. He is now semi-retired.
Steve grew up around railways as his father was a rail enthusiast and he spent many hours at GWR's Didcot centre.
He has also been a school governor and managed the financial reporting for a charity supporting an orphanage and school in India.
Job Titles:
- Locomotive Superintendent
Job Titles:
- Locomotive Engineering Director
Tim has a background in the construction industry, specialising in electrical installation. Having been part of a family business (for which he is now running) within this sector, Tim has over 30 years of experience, and he also provides valuable service to various aspects and needs across the railway.
Tim has been volunteering at The Bluebell Railway in the locomotive department since 2010 and has progressed through the grade at the railway to Locomotive Inspector. He is also the Locomotive Department Chief Roster Clerk at Sheffield Park.
I spent nearly 40 years in the airport business, with almost 20 years in BAA culminating at senior management level at Heathrow. I had many varied roles but for much of my time in BAA I concentrated on jet fuel infrastructure projects which included major contract negotiations and the development of new jet fuel related facilities at Heathrow Terminal 5.
Job Titles:
- Chairman and Administrative Governor, Sheffield Park Station, East
- Chairman and Strategic Adviser to Board
- Trust Chairman
I have been a member and regular visitor to the Bluebell Railway since 1965 when I started volunteering in the station buffet and polishing the carriages. I am a chartered accountant with a background in dealing with trusts and charities.
In 2014 I was appointed the administrator of the Trust which supports the railway and in 2019 I became chairman.