The David Clarke Railway Trust is a Registered Charity formed since the death of David Clarke in July 2002. David Clarke was Honorary President and substantial benefactor to the Great Central Railway. Included within the Charity are all the assets and liabilities that David Clarke held in the Great Central Railway at the time of his death.

The Charity was formed to safeguard all David’s interests in the GCR and to continue to support the Railway’s development not only today, but also in the future. The Trust is not a membership-based organisation and therefore has very low running costs - we want as much money as possible to go where it can really make a difference. It communicates with those interested in its work and activities through the Friends of the Great Central Main Line publications.

As a Charity, the Trust can receive donations from UK taxpayers and attract an additional 28% contribution from the Inland Revenue. All monies raised will be directed towards historic and educational projects on the Great Central Railway, such as star visiting locomotives, special events or the purchasing of rolling stock for use on the Railway to name but a few. The Trust can also receive legacies, which are free of inheritance tax. It would be pleased to give advice in respect of this further valuable support.

Facilities exist to receive donations either by lump sum, by monthly or yearly standing order.

Further information can be obtained from the Secretary to the Charity at: 1 Leicester Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 2AE Please help with a donation - Today

About David Clarke

David Arnold Clarke was born on the 15th September 1929, the only son of Arnold and Ivy Clarke. Arnold Clarke successfully ran a local box manufacturing business while Ivy Clarke spent a lot of her time working for charities and other good works which is a vocation that David Clarke carried on after his mother died in 1969.

His C.V. included many things but notably, he followed a motor racing career in the early 1950’s and went onto form his own film company and made motor racing films for oil companies, as well as local business. He produced local newsreel for the BBC and the ATV, as well as working in the family box manufacturing business.

He was very interested in all things mechanical and eventually, having started to collect and restore old Ferrari cars, he formed the internationally known Graypaul Motors. He met Enzo Ferrari and was fortunate to acquire a very important and rare Ferrari, which some years later he sold to finance his charitable interests and provide substantial investment in the Great Central Railway.

Shortly after the sale of the car, he purchased the first of two substantial houses in Leicestershire’s Charnwood Forest, and formed the Shuttlewood Clarke Foundation, registered charity number 803525 for the relief of loneliness and suffering among elderly and disabled people. To date over 60,000 people have enjoyed the hospitality provided by that Charity.

Mr Clarke’s interest in railways originated from school holiday visits he made during the Second World War to his uncle, who was a signalman on the Great Western & London & North Eastern joint Railway at Ruislip. Railway signaling in particular fascinated him, and this was just one of the reasons for his interest in the Great Central Railway. He had the vision that as a mainline preserved railway, the Great Central could offer the public and enthusiasts alike a unique experience. A double track main line railway fully signaled and operated with heritage trains passing each other was something he considered well worth helping to develop. As a result, he invested heavily into the Great Central to substantially assist with the double track project, and, of course, signaling with the Swithland Sidings project still to be completed at the time that he died in July 2002 whilst travelling on his beloved railway.