A 3,000 mile rail journey in just 3 days

Seven inspirational men, including Formby resident Stephen Ward embarked on a 3,000 mile rail journey in just three days around Europe for charity.

line up left to right - Paul Fletcher, Stephen Gamble, Dave Graham, Marc Wood, Stephen ward, Stephen Walker and Andrew Iles

Their goal was to raise funds for both the Air Ambulance and the British Heart Foundation through sponsorship from both individuals and corporate bodies alike and to provide their sponsors with assurances that their donations, however small, have helped save more lives.

The dates :- Wednesday 21st, Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd October 2015.

All the team members travelled from Liverpool Lime Street at the commencement of the journey along a pre-determined route taking in a number of European Countries and collecting evidence to support their arrival and departure from each major station along that route.

Given the total distance (up to 3,000 miles) to be covered and time table considerations, the main challenge will be to complete the round trip in as little time as possible. No more than 3 days. This will mean long hours travelling by rail, continuous train and route changes in unfamiliar settings, excellent communication skills to overcome written and spoken language barriers, overnight travel and very little opportunity for off-train rest, relaxation or cleanliness breaks.

The event would prove to be both a physical and mental test of the resilience, determination and focus of each and every team member. The event was confined to rail travel only.

Eight participants from the three major Train Operating Companies serving the region from Liverpool Lime street station. All the participants have either suffered personally from Cardiovascular disease or their lives or loved ones/friends, have been touched by it’s devastating consequences in some way. Unfortunately the eighth person, was Chris Iles, Andrews brother who suffered a heart attack and had to back out.

Stephen Ward in Berlin

Stephen spoke to the Bubble about the journey,

"A lot of our connections only had 30 min between them. Munich to Venice was hard as the train was cancelled from Munich due to the Border being closed because of the migrant issues so, we had to get a local over the border were we picked up our train."

Stephen went on to say "It was very cramped. We had to do this at a few of the borders for the same reason. We had great experiences though, including breakfast in Venice on day two. Making friends with the Germans on the night train to Berlin. We have had overwhelming generosity from people everywhere."

If you would like to donate to this amazing cause and show support for what they have achieved. please visit their Just Giving page by CLICKING HERE

Team target: £8,000.00

Raised so far: £2,598.78

Here are some more photos supplied by Stephen of their incredible journey.

Well done to all of them. Truly inspirational.

Friday 30th October at 7:30pm - The Liverpool Naval Club

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What follows below is an extract from the Liverpool Echo newspaper dated 20th September 2012.

This is where it all began:-

A LIVERPOOL train driver who suffered a heart attack and passed out while in charge of an express was hailed a hero for saving his passengers’ lives.

David Graham, of Childwall, was driving the 9.48am TransPennine Express Scarborough to Liverpool Lime Street service on Monday when he fell ill at his cab controls. In spite of blacking out, on coming round Mr Graham brought his train to a safe stop at Sherburn in Ryedale, between Seamer and Malton.

He radioed his guard for help and passengers with medical skills rushed to give him first aid after he began having problems breathing. Ambulance and fire services were called at about 10am to the train which had halted at Rillington level crossing.

Mr Graham, 50, was airlifted to the specialist cardiothoracic unit at Castle Hill Hospital, Hull, where he is now “cracking jokes like his usual self”, according to his son Jonathan, 23. The theatre student, who lives in London, said: “He’s a real hero to me and I’m so proud of what he did by putting his passengers’ safety first.

“Dad passed out and then woke up to find the alarm lights flashing, which is what happens if a driver takes his foot off the ‘deadman’s brake’.

“He called to the guard and, in spite of unbearable pain, ensured the train stopped at a place where he knew it would be safe and not in danger of collision from another one. “But he can’t remember much else, other than the passengers rushing through to help him when he started to gasp for air. He said he’d never felt pain like it and thought this was the end.”

Mr Graham is expected to be released today and then go for follow-up treatment at Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool. A TransPennine Express spokesman said: “A member of train crew was found to be seriously unwell and emergency services responded. Assistance was also provided by medically trained passengers on board the train. The service was taken to Malton.”

Our objective:

This event is dedicated to all those in the railway industry who tirelessly work all hours and in all conditions to ensure our rail industry provides excellent service to its millions of customers every single day.

Also tirelessly working behind the scenes are the thousands of medical staff who keep our staff alive and fit to work another day. Without prompt medical intervention administered by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance crew and the unfailing dedication of the British Heart Foundation, the event organiser, Dave Graham could so easily have lost his own personal fight for life when he was personally struck down by heart disease in 2012.

Our main objective is to raise much needed finance to help keep our Air Ambulance crews flying and the British Heart Foundation at the cutting edge of research and to ensure they can continue to provide essential life saving resources and equipment for our regions.