Some fantastic news to share! At the 2012 ACoRP Community Rail Awards held this year in Swindon on September 28th Glossop Station came 1st in the best Station Development category! There to accept the award on stage in front of several hundred people from around the country were Neil FOGS' Chair, Theo Glossop Line Manager and Mike Rose representing High Peak and Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership. A moment to savour as the Oscar like statue and framed certifcate were presented by Mark Hopwood, Managing Director of First Great Western. Loud cheers especially from the Northern Rail tables! We must thank ACoRP for this accolade, our second major award from them, in 3 years. It is particularly gratifying that it acknowledges everyone's efforts to make significant improvements at Glossop station. Long standing friends of Glossop including Paul Salveson - source of much inspiration - John Yellowlees of First ScotRail, Mike Franklin of Network Rail, Natasha Wilding and Dwayne Wells of Northern were generous in their congratulations! We must also thank Mark Barker of Northern for submitting  Glossop station - we know how much time a submission takes! Neil sitting next to Mark at one of the 2 Northern Rail hostedtables was able to enjoy his company and benefit from his expertise. Also receiving awards were Neil - placed 3rd in the Volunteer category, Theo a Highly Commended in the Manager section and a 3rd too for Friends of Hattersley in the Best Station Adoption Group section. Babs was delighted! Our Friends from Heaton Chapel got well deserved awards for their stunning Running Man mural and the Mid Cheshire line got 2 awards as well. Record awards for Northern capped at the end of the evening by Northern being named the overall winner of the Community Rail Strategy for 2012. A very well deserved win indeed! We thank Northern as always for their generous hospitality on the evening. And to Dawn, Hazel, Brian and the ACoRP team for creating a stunning setting/dinner gala in the splendid surrounds of Swindon's Steam Museum. Thank you for all the messages of congratulations that we are currently receiving. These are much appreciated! We are looking to display the award at Glossop Station - copies of the certificate have been put on display in the Booking Office window and in the FOGS' Display Board. We hope to get some photos of the evening soon and these will be shared!

 We are delighted to announce that Ian Bevan, Managing Director of Northern Rail, has accepted our invitation to switch on our Christmas tree lights at our event on Saturday 8th December at 11.00. Ian paid a visit to the station and staff a few weeks ago and he liked the period feel to the station! We thank Theo, Glossop Line Manager, for his help in arranging this visit. More details about the Christmas event will be published soon.

 Our very popular Poetry Platform feature - currently with an animals' theme - is being prepared for its next content. Emma Young who does a fantastic job of creating and maintaining the display, has decided to seek out poems that reflect our northern industrial roots. An original idea and when you think of the opening to the Olympic Ceremony, a popular one! Any ideas for poems or poets welcomed. Leave ideas at the Booking Office or get in touch via EMail.

 On Tuesday 25th September Bunty, Chris Harris - from Glossop Gardeners - and Neil set to work with gusto on the flower boxes, baskets and tubs at the station. Time for the seasonal change! Out with summer - some might question whether it happened at all in Glossop this year - and in with some lovely new Autumn displays. The job was much longer than usual as Bunty and Chris decided to renew the oasis in each box. The new stepladder proved its worth! Bunty also added a clever twist by twisting ivy up the chains of the hanging baskets creating the impression it is gowing up them towards the pigeon netting! A bit Dr. Who in concept! One driver who said ah the plastic plants are being changed was reminded in no  uncertain terms by Bunty that they are dried silk flowers!! A nice finishing touch in the boxes are the dried alium flower heads brought back from the south by Bunty. Simply stunning! As always we are hugely grateful to Bunty and Chris for creating such splendid displays. Enjoy!

On Sunday 9th September Northern Rail ran a special Stakeholders' Train from Hadfield to Edge Hill. The train carried invited passengers - the merry band of volunteers who support Northern in this area - and Northern Managers. It has been an annual tradition of Northern to thank volunteers at an event such as this. Previous destinations have included Bridlington, Morecambe, The Worth Valley Railway and the East Lancs. Railway. Friends of Hadfield Station had bedecked the station in bunting to mark the event and the flowers planted earlier in the summer provided a most attractive backdrop. There was a real air of excitement as the two Class 156's pulled in - very rare visitors to the Glossop line! FOGS were represented by John LeG., John K., Penny and Neil. Also joining the party was Matthew who had been asked to don his Victorian Station Master's outfit to add some fun to the train! It was a lovely morning as the train left at 9.41 calling at selected stations to Guide Bridge then taking the rare passenger route to Stockport calling at Denton and Reddish South stations that normally only see a service once a week on a Friday.There were some very surprised householders en route who clearly thought they had woken up on the wrong day!!! From there to Piccadilly and towards Liverpool via Chat Moss where signs of the new electrification were in evidence. Lots of banter on board the train as many passengers knew fellow friends. We were in the good company of Val and Derek from Chapel who shared our humour! It was nice to see some of the Personnel at Northern whom we know best including our own Manager Theo, his boss Paul, Route 28 Star Dwayne, Pete Gerring and area Boss Mark Barker. Mark's excellent souvenir booklet was well received as was the Quiz! On arrival at Edge Hill one of the 156's was named George Bradshaw by a member of his family and Northern Rail's popular Area Director Lee Wasnidge. After that lots of time to take tours in vintage buses to destinations including tunnels and The Beatles! Time too for lunch, a visit to explore Metal in the buildings at Edge Hill, admire the newly created garden and listen to the music. "Does the train stop at Merseyside?" proved a popular and appropriate number! The return train left at 15.53 for the same route home arriving back at Hadfield at 17.37 on time to the minute! Not an easy job squeezing a special train into the single track Dinting triangle and, on this occasion, the special was unable to call at Glossop on both outward and return journeys. Chris Strogen took the excellent accompanying photos of the 156 Special traversing Dinting Viaduct at 17.30 as it returned home highlighting not only the train but the extensive repair works evident now on the Viaduct. We thank Northeren for their generous hospiltality in providing the train and the event - a really good day out! We doubt whether any other rail company would go to the lengths of Northern in creating such a happy event for the benefit of their volunteers.