Lego Grand Central train on track to greet half-term visitors to York

THE train now arriving at York Visitor Information Centre is the centrepiece of a new partnership between the city’s official tourism body and rail operator Grand Central.

The four-metre Lego model made the short journey from Grand Central’s Rougier Street headquarters on Thursday, and is now in place to welcome visitors over half term and Christmas.

Grand Central managing Director, Richard McClean said: “It’s not often we take this particular train out for a spin but when Visit York got in touch to ask if the model could take pride-of-place in the Visitor Information Centre we were more than happy to wave it off.

“While it makes a fantastic attraction for Visit York, it also serves as a reminder that both Grand Central and York’s huge range of attractions are open for business and welcoming responsible visitors.”

Russell McCartney, Head of Commercial at Make It York, said: "We are really excited that our Visitor Information Centre is now home to this wonderful 13ft-long Grand Central Lego train. The model is an impressive sight and it looks great on display for residents and visitors to come in and enjoy over the next few months." 

The reproduction of the Class 180 Adelante  is the work of professional Lego model builder Simon Mayes, director of Brick This.  It is made of around 30,000 bricks and includes a full internal lighting system throughout the carriages.

To coincide with the train’s move to its temporary new home, Grand Central, Visit York (a part of Make It York) and the Judge's Lodging hotel in Lendal have launched a half term competition to win a family stay in York, including travel, accommodation and York Passes

The competition can be found on Grand Central’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/grandcentralrail

ENDS

Notes to editors

Make It York  

Make It York’s purpose is to develop and promote the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally - as a vibrant and attractive place to live, visit, study, work and do business.  The company’s remit covers leisure and business tourism, city centre management, festivals and events, business support and inward investment. 

One of Make It York’s strategic aims is to promote York as a brilliant place to do business, helping to support business growth and innovation across a range of business sectors, such as financial & professional services, rail and high value manufacturing and to stimulate greater inward investment.

Grand Central Railway Company Limited

Grand Central is an established train operator which provides direct rail connections from towns and cities in Yorkshire and the North East England with London.
Customer satisfaction levels are consistently high and the rail company was named Britain’s best value rail operator for the tenth time in the Spring 2020 National Rail Passenger Survey. In 2020 the same survey saw Grand Central rated overall best operator for customer satisfaction.
Grand Central operates West Riding services between Bradford Interchange, Low Moor, Halifax, Brighouse, Mirfield, Wakefield Kirkgate, Pontefract Monkhill, Doncaster and London King’s Cross. The rail operator also operates North East services between Sunderland, Hartlepool, Eaglescliffe, Northallerton, Thirsk, York and London King’s Cross.

Grand Central is part of the Arriva group. Arriva is one of the leading providers of passenger transport in Europe, employing over 53,000 people and delivering 2 billion passenger journeys a year across 14 European countries. We are part of Deutsche Bahn (DB), one of the world’s leading passenger and logistics companies, and are responsible for DB's regional passenger transport services outside Germany.

Richard Catton  I  PR & Partnerships Executive  I  Grand Central

M: 07866 173 964  |    E: richard.catton@grandcentralrail.com