Introducing The East Midlands Transport Heritage Trust
We have mentioned in previous issues of Driving Wheels and MainLine the intention to merge the two charities, East Midlands Railway Trust (EMRT) and the LNER (GC) Heritage Trust, which both support the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre (NTHC) and the Great Central Railway Nottingham (GCRN) Railway.
First, you may well ask, what is the reason for doing this?
Very simply, by combining our resources, we will become more secure in our charitable role as custodians of the heritage assets of the Railway and Centre, more sustainable as a single organisation, and more efficient in fundraising (with your support!) and in investing these resources back into the project.
Thinking back to 2021, just four years ago, when rail traffic had to be suspended for safety reasons and the NHTC site reopened after the COVID lockdown but required huge efforts to make it safe and presentable, the two Trusts, the operating company and other volunteer groups and societies didn’t enjoy the best of relationships. Since then, great steps have been made which see the railway reopening for fully-booked Christmas trains and a Heritage Centre which stages successful, viable events and which is creating modern facilities such as Building 4 and the new visitor amenity block – and these are just the start.
Two steps helped make this possible. One was the agreement for EMRT to take a controlling interest in GCRN Ltd, underpinning its solvency, with the help of new shareholders’ investments. The other was the merger of the Northern Development Association into the LNER (GC) Trust, making its funds accountable and available for use. These mergers have worked well. They point the direction for the Trusts to merge.
EMRT (originally formed in 1990 as GCR(N) Ltd) is the charity which owns the freehold and fixed assets of both the railway line from Loughborough Junction to Ruddington, the Heritage Centre and the disused trackbed of Ruddington station (for which there are plans). It is also a fundraising charity through the Forward Fund. The LNER (GC) Heritage Trust was formed in 1999. In addition to fundraising for the Centre and the Railway, it acts as the membership organisation for the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre, although we also propose to change this – see next item.
The Trustees of both charities have met and agreed unanimously that a merger makes sense, for the following reasons:
1. The goals of each charity are very similar, and we have agreed the new ‘Objects and Purposes of the Trust’ which have been submitted to the Charities Commission for their approval.
2. A single Board will initially be formed from the three trustees of LNER (GC) Trust and four of the five trustees of EMRT (David Morris is standing down, we thank him for this service).
3. By merging, we turn two small charities into a slightly larger one, as the figures below show.
4. It will take less time and cost (in audit and other fees) to run one charity rather than two.
5. We can be more efficient in fundraising to safeguard and improve the railway and centre.
Legally, as EMRT owns as the majority of land assets which are not easily transferable, it makes sense to merge the LNER Trust into EMRT, with the new name of The East Midlands Transport Heritage Trust reflecting the Objects shown below. This is a merger which recognises and incorporates the strengths of both charities and their trustees.
Objects and Purposes of the East Midlands Transport Heritage Trust
The Objects of the Trust are to protect and preserve the amenities of the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre for the benefit of the public generally in such ways as are appropriate to charitable organisations; and to those ends to pursue the following
Purposes:
(a) The education of people of all backgrounds through the operation of a living transport museum.
(b) The advancement of heritage by the preservation and operation for the public benefit of the historical railway known as Great Central Railway Nottingham.
(c) The advancement of transport heritage through the engineering and demonstration of scale models of rail transport.
(d) The advancement of heritage by the preservation and operation for the public benefit of road transport in the East Midlands including the preservation, conservation, maintenance, repair and demonstration of heritage buses and other road transport.
(e) The advancement of citizenship, community development and individual wellbeing for all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities through the promotion of volunteering, learning and training including training and development in heritage skills.
(f) The advancement of conservation of the flora, fauna and species within the Charity’s lineside estate, including designated areas of special scientific interest forming part of that estate.
Financial resources (as at end of last reporting year 31.1.2025)
| EMRT | LNER (GC) Trust | EMTHT | |
| Net financial reserves | £184,000 | £148,000 | £332,000 |
The combined EMTHT figure is illustrative only, as both charities have raised and expended resources during the current year. The total cash reserves of both charities are just under half a million pounds. This is less than the replacement cost of just one of the major bridges on the railway. That is why we must become much more ambitious and efficient at fundraising.
What this means for members, donors and investors
Initially, we plan that both charities will act as one organisation from the start of the next financial year – 1st February 2025. They will formally be united when consent is received from the Charities Commission.
Donations, standing orders and lottery subscriptions will initially continue as they are, to the existing Trust bank accounts. Once the formal merger occurs, a new single bank account will be set up. A single website for EMTHT is also being created to replace the existing ones.
As explained below, LNER (GC) Trust membership will also change during 2025.
A unified volunteer membership for the Greater Great Central Railway
The LNER (GC) Trust was launched in 1999, in part to provide a volunteer membership organisation for the GCRN and the Heritage Centre. There are currently 428 members. Interestingly, 126 of these are also members of the Friends of the Great Central Main Line (Friends). This provides a Working Member record and identity card system which is essential. However, the operating company under previous management did not always encourage membership, which was suppressed until recently.
The Friends was formed in 2006 from the previous Main Line Steam Trust. It is the membership organisation which supports the GCR, from which it is independent. It has always been open to members from all parts of the GCR and beyond. It has over 4000 members and is run by a 9-person committee.
As the GCRN reopens, and the railways move towards reunification, increasingly our members work on both railways – not only operational, but also in S&T, Permanent Way, Civil Engineering, and management. This is to be encouraged as it shares best practices and means people resources can be focused on completing major projects which, certainly in the North, we could not achieve alone.
But running two membership organisations, systems and publishing two journals consumes quite a lot of time and (our) money. For these reasons, it makes sense to combine the LNER (GC) Trust membership into the Friends. This will create for the first time a whole-line volunteer membership and working membership system. Trust membership will be combined into Friends during 2025 and will be completed early in 2026.
What this means for Trust members
Your subscription will continue until its normal renewal date. You will then be asked to renew as a member of Friends. If you are already a Friend, you will just need one membership. Lifetime members of the LNER Trust will be transferred across as lifetime Friends.
Members will enjoy the same travel and event discounts on both railways – a new benefit.
MainLine will become the membership journal for the whole railway. A typical issue already carries around 15 pages of news and material on the North, as well as on shared interest such as Reunification. The Editor of MainLine will continue to encourage and increase these contributions. A Ruddington correspondent or member of the editorial team would be most welcome.
It is proposed that Driving Wheels will retire with honour during 2025. Before then, we hope the editor will agree to compile a final issue to celebrate our many achievements in the North since 1992.
We will encourage nominations for the Friends committee from the Ruddington and GCRN membership in advance of the Friends AGM which will be held in July 2025.
We close with the thought that ‘Unity is Strength’, and that combining the Trusts and the membership organisations will make us a stronger and more successful railway, heritage and visitor attraction.
If you have any comments, questions or suggestions about the merger of the EMRT and LNER (GC) Trust, or about combining the LNER (GC) Trust membership into the Friends, please speak to any of the Trustees named below, or email either organisation.
EMRT
David Rae Malcolm
Freckelton
Peter Morley
Clive Baines
hello@emrtrust.co.uk
LNER (GC) Trust
Andy Fillingham (Chairs)
Martin Roe
Karen Sharpe
contact@lnergctrust.org