Over a three-week period, Stobart Rail successfully ran three day long depot visits for two local schools.
On each occasion the schools were welcomed by members of the Depot Visits Team, shown into the executive board room and given a presentation on the history and background of the Stobart Group and its subsidiary companies.
They were then invited to take a small test on the presentation – all questions were answered correctly. The children were then taken up to Longtown where Stobart Rail does its practical training.
Everyone enjoyed a practical hands on day on site. This included a small drainage challenge – working out how to place two drainage pipes using either laser or traditional technology. Then under the watchful eye of an instructor children were given the chance to sit behind the controls of a 13 tonne excavator.
At lunch, a time lapse video played showing the different types of work Stobart Rail delivers. After lunch the schools party went across to the rail training area where a Road Rail Liebherr vehicle was waiting. Sitting in the back the children went for a ride up and down the test track with the instructor explaining what the machine was used for and what was involved in operating these complex machines.
At the other end of the test track a Neotec SkyRailer MEWP (Mobile Elevated Work Platform) was waiting with an operator. Each of the students was kitted up with a harness, clipped in to the basket and taken skyward. Only the teachers backed out of this challenge.
For the last part of the day it was back into the classroom for a brief introduction to the track components required to build a common crossing and set of rail switches. Finally it was outside again to brave the icy weather and identify the components on the training track.
By this time the day was nearly over. Students were given small gift bags before they went home, hopefully contemplating a future in railways or civil engineering. Overall the day was a great success and gave some 40 year 11 students an insight into the type of work that is done in both rail engineering and construction engineering.
It is good to see a British company doing it’s bit to promote careers in civil engineering within the railway industry. I can only hope that Stobarts will, in time, branch out and become a globally-recognised company.
This is an excellent initiative, and a great example that could be followed by ither companies in the sector