IN A ceremony delayed by the pandemic, the Middleton Railway’s vice-president Ian Smith received the ‘2021
Railway Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award For Services To Preservation’ on September 29.
The award is normally given during the Heritage Railway Association’s annual awards dinner in late winter, but this year’s winners could only be announced online due to restrictions at the time about group gatherings.
Former RM editor Chris Milner presented the award to Ian at the heritage line for ‘Outstanding work and personal dedication to the Middleton Railway for 50 years.’ The full citation reads: ‘For more than 50 years dedicated service as a volunteer at the Middleton Railway, helping to shape the railway for future generations, creating a community asset in a city environment and for recognising the importance of preserving industrial locomotives built in Leeds.’