MORE than 400 people from the railway industry and beyond came together last night (15 October) to help the Railway Benefit Fund (RBF) raise over £20,000 at its 150th anniversary dinner at The Brewery in London.

Guests from all areas of the industry were in attendance at the event including Sir Moir Lockhead from First Group who sponsored the event along with media partners Railnews.

The Dickensian themed evening kicked off with a vocal performance from the Sylvia Young Theatre School children’s choir, who were dressed in period costume and sang songs from Oliver Twist including Food Glorious Food.

Charity president Sir William McAlpine then opened the evening with a short presentation, as Victorian wenches invited guests to take part in a silent auction to win unusual and valuable lots - including a poster of the Titanic signed by the youngest survivor - and an acrobatic strongman and his partner performed a series of gravity defying moves for the crowd.

Just before dinner was served rail freight hauliers First GBRf presented the RBF with a cheque for £10,084 which they had raised through a series of ten fundraising events including an abseil from the top of Guys Hospital, a train chase against the clock and a sponsored bike ride from Lands End to John O’Groats.

After dinner guests had the opportunity to bid for further prizes in the open auction, which included a signed photograph of football legend Bobby Moore, a Freddie Flintoff cricket bat and the exclusive use of EWS’ special charter train which attracted a winning bid of £11,000.

Providing the entertainment for the evening was comedian Barry Cryer, who performed a comedy routine before finishing with a musical number with help from Colin Sells on the piano.

David Allen, chairman of the charity said: “We are absolutely thrilled that the evening has generated such a fantastic result; over £20,000 was raised during the evening which has gone beyond and exceeded all expectation.

“We are grateful to everyone who made this event possible, including everyone who attended and took part in our fundraising activities.

“Historically the RBF used dinners to raise funds for the charity and we are delighted that this ancient tradition has been revived so successfully to mark our 150th anniversary.”

- Event Photographer Natasha Cheek can be contacted on n8asha@hotmail.com