The E.F.Howlden Charitable Trust

Owners of Great Northern Railway Directors' Saloon No.1283

Having been in the ownership of four individuals from 1969, it was decided that the best way to secure the future of this historic saloon was to form a charitable trust to take on the ownership and responsibility for it. For many years the "Howlden Group" have looked after, crewed and maintained the saloon. The Trust Deed was granted on 4th April 2003, and the Howlden Trust came into being on 26th April 2003 on holding its first meeting. All four of the original owners, along with five other members of the group, and a representative of the Bluebell Railway plc, became the Trustees, with the saloon itself, and the group's collection of GNR/ECJS/LNER/BR(E) artefacts being gifted into the ownership of the Trust at that first meeting.

The Trustees (left to right): Graham Ward (Chairman), Ron Collen-Jones, Frank Cheevers FIRO, Fred Pragnall, Ian Osborne (Treasurer), Sarah Vigar, Helen Collen-Jones, Richard Salmon (Secretary), Tim Baker (Bluebell Railway plc representative) and Roger Price, having just held the inaugural meeting, assuming responsibility for the carriage, 26th April 2003.

Further details of the saloon, and how to hire it, are on the web page for the carriage itself.

The designer of the saloon, E.F. (Frankie) Howlden, joined the GNR as a pupil in 1853 under Archibald Sturrock (Loco Supt) and John Coffin (presumably Carriage Engineer) and retired at the end of 1904. During his time he saw the coaching stock world change from one of four wheelers to trains composed of steam heated, electrically lit, bogie stock where sleeping cars and dining cars were quite familiar. His successor as Carriage and Wagon Superintendent of the Great Northern Railway was none other than Mr H.N. Gresley.