A little boy who loves trains will be the star attraction of a miniature railway's charity fun day this weekend. Four-year-old Percy Sherwood-Brown is not only a huge miniature train fan, but is also a current out-patient of Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
He was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in March 2020 when he was just two years old. The youngster will be among the first on board at Brookside Miniature Railway in Poynton on Sunday, which is finally able to host its fun day in aid of Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity.
Bosses at the much-loved family attraction had originally planned to host the fundraising event for the children’s hospital in March 2019, as part of a grand reopening after it suddenly closed in 2018. But railway managers and volunteers have faced 'every disaster possible' and had to keep postponing the event.
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The original fun day was cancelled due to bad weather which flooded huge areas in and around Poynton. This was coupled with a second flood in July 2019.
Thanks to the help of volunteers it reopened in the August, but then before they even had chance to reorganise the event, in February 2020 vandals damaged some of the fencing and later that month there were two break-ins where a window was smashed, steal boarding damaged and toys stolen.
In March 2020, disaster struck again when the nation went into lockdown and the site had to close.
Now the place is finally back on track and after hosting some successful Halloween and Christmas events with its newly purchased train Mighty Max, known as 'loco', the place is pulling out all the stops for its special event this weekend, where all ride fees will be collected by the charity.
Percy's mum Karrie, from Hazel Grove, Stockport, says the youngster is looking forward to joining in the fun and explained what the hospital means to them.
“Throughout his treatment Percy has been on the Oncology and Haematology Ward, but he has also been on the Intensive Care Unit and the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit – so we know the hospital very well now," she said.
“It’s not a place you ever want to be as a parent, but honestly once you’re there the staff are just all incredible – they’re so supportive and Percy has been really well looked after. That’s so reassuring when you’re going through leukaemia with a two-year-old. We’re so grateful to the hospital and want to do whatever we can to support them.
“Percy is a huge train fan too so he can’t wait to visit Brookside again. And this time he’ll get to meet the charity’s mascot bear! He can’t wait.”
Chris MacKenzie MBE, one of the railway directors, said they can’t wait to welcome Percy and all the young children to the fun day, especially after so many delays in putting the event on.
“We’ve faced pretty much every disaster possible. It’s been chaos," he said.
“The floods and the break-ins came first and then we had a bit of a running joke that all that was left was a plague. Then Covid came along and the whole world went into lockdown.
“It felt like it was one thing after another and it would have been very easy to feel defeated. But we have an amazing team of staff and volunteers who pitched in with some incredible hard work.
“We’ve had to rebuild pieces of track, clear up after the floods, we’ve had tunnels and track fail their engineering inspections, we’ve re-routed the course, we’ve had toys stolen, it’s been endless. But each time we’ve come back fighting.”
Andy Prior, the railway’s site manager, said: “It’s been three years now but we’re determined the fun day for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity will finally be able to go ahead.
“We chose the charity as a lot of our customers are children. We felt it was right to give something back to a charity which benefits so many young people in our area.”
The fun day will include a visit from charity mascot Humphrey - a giant green bear who is very popular with children. As well as train rides, families will also be able to enjoy Keelings Vintage Fun Fair and music from a traditional jazz band.
All collections on the day will go to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity, which funds treatment, research and care projects for the 280,000-plus young patients who visit the hospital each year.
There will also be a raffle for the charity, with prizes including meals out, a pamper package and vouchers for local shops.
Jo Thomas, community fundraising officer at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We’re so touched the team have chosen to fundraise for us in this way – asking for donations instead of selling tickets for the rides.
“We really hope lots of families will go along to have some fun, meet Humphrey and support a really worthy cause.”
To find out more about the charity visit the website here.
The fun day, this Sunday, March 20, will run from 10.30am to 4pm.
