The Dean Forest Railway Society is very pleased to announce that our Emergency Fund, launched at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic to help ensure the survival of the DFR, has reached our initial target of £50,000. We are delighted with this tremendous result and offer our sincere thanks to all members and supporters of the railway who dug deep to help us hit our target. The money has played a vital role in making sure that the DFR survived in order to be able to reopen to the public on 1st August, with limited socially-distanced services now running on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
However, not only has the railway been hit by a complete lack of visitor income between March and August, but social distancing means that although we are running as many trains as we possibly can, and filling the vast majority of them to their reduced capacity, we are not making as much visitor income at the height of the season that we would during a normal year.
The Trustees of the Society have therefore taken the decision to keep the appeal open, in order to support the railway through this period when finances will inevitably remain stretched for some time. Further appeal income will either be used in direct support, or to fund projects which would otherwise be on hold due to the pandemic.
Please continue to support the appeal, full details of which can be found at https://www.dfrsociety.org.uk/dfrs-emergency-fund
Also, please consider visiting the railway and travelling on our services to show your support. Please visit deanforestrailway.co.uk for more details and to book.