Dragons and heroes to call at Stone station for St George’s Day

Tuesday, 2 April 2019

Dragons, knights, princesses and their families are invited to a special St George’s Day celebration at Stone Railway station.

Writer and storyteller, Dave Tonge, will be telling mesmerising tales of heroes gone by, with an interactive performance at the station’s community centre on Tuesday 23 April.

‘Forward to the Past’ is being hosted by North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership and London Northwestern Railway.

For local heroes and their families who want to make their way to the event in style, the London Northwestern Railway Dragon Express will be departing from Crewe at 1402 (1411 from Alsager, 1415 from Kidsgrove, 1428 from Stoke-on-Trent). There will be special entertainment and storytelling for passengers on board.

The main event will then commence from 1500 and run until 1630 at Stone Station Community Centre.

Claire Sandys, from North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership, said: “St George’s Day is a fantastic opportunity for storytelling and we are lucky enough to be able to host nationally acclaimed story teller, Dave Tonge, in the beautiful listed building at Stone Station. Here be dragons!”

Vicky Cropper, head of stakeholder and community for London Northwestern Railway, said: “The Dragon Express will be the perfect start to an afternoon of exciting performances, ideal for families of all ages. The more dragons, knights and princesses we can get to join us, the better! North Staffs CRP have done a great job in bringing the spirit of St George’s Day to Stone, and we are looking forward to an afternoon of exciting storytelling at the station.”

Refreshments will be provided at Stone Station Community Centre during the event. Adult tickets are £5 and children can attend for free (normal train ticket prices apply).

To register for the event and for more information go to Event Brite (search for Forward to the Past).

To check train times, ticket prices and to plan your journey, go to www.londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk

ENDS

For further information on this release, call our press office on 03300 955150 or email [email protected]

Forward to the Past event information

Timings for the day

• 1500 – 1545 - Dave Tonge storytelling
• 1600 – 1630 - Dragon Express stories for those who didn’t hear them on the train or who would like to hear them again

Ticket prices

• Children up to 17 years old can attend for free.
• Adult tickets are £5
• Normal train fares apply for the Dragon Express

Dragons, knights, princesses and princes of all ages will be especially welcome.

Adults are responsible for all children (maximum of three) in their group.

Free teas, coffees, soft drinks will be available at Stone Station Community Centre.

About Dave Tonge

Storyteller and writer Dave Tonge (Dave Tonge is both an author and storyteller, he has written three books: Tudor Tales (2015) Norfolk Folk Tales for Children (2018) and Medieval Folk Tales for Children (2019) He has been telling tales since 1999, both as one half of Past-Imagined and now as the Yarnsmith of Norwich. He travels all over the UK telling stories at storytelling clubs, museums, heritage sites, fairs, festivals and in schools.

About West Midlands Trains

For further information on this release, call our press office on 03300 955150 or email [email protected]

West Midlands Trains operates both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services.

• London Northwestern Railway services operate between Liverpool and Birmingham, and on the West Coast mainline to and from London Euston.

• West Midlands Railway services operate to destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street.

For more information on these services visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk or londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk

The West Midlands Trains franchise started on 10 December 2017 and will run until 2025/26.

West Midlands Trains operates 1,300 services a day, manages 150 stations and provides over 70 million passenger journeys a year. Over the course of the franchise, West Midlands Trains will be investing £1 billion into the rail network to deliver new trains, improved routes and station upgrades. This will include 400 new train carriages across the network and space for an extra 85,000 passengers into Birmingham and London at peak times.

The franchise is a joint venture between Abellio (70.1% share) and East Japan Railway Company / Mitsui & Co., Ltd (29.9% share in a 50:50 split). Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. In the UK, Abelllio operates ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, Merseyrail services in a joint venture with Serco and buses through Abellio London. For more information visit www.abellio.com

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