Christopher Garnett OBE
Patron

Christopher has held various senior roles across the railway industry and other sectors. His first job in transport came in 1987 when he joined Sea Containers subsidiary Sealink British Ferries as Regional Manager responsible for services from Dover to Calais and from Harwich to the Hook of Holland.

Christopher became Commercial Director of Eurotunnel in 1990, but returned to Sea Containers four years later and led its successful bid for the InterCity East Coast (ICEC) rail franchise. Christopher was appointed Chief Executive of ICEC operator Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) in April 1996 and over the next ten years oversaw a complete transformation of services with InterCity 225s the backbone of the fleet.

Following his retirement in 2006, Christopher took on several non-executive board appointments, including with Transport for London and the Olympic Delivery Authority. In 2013, he was awarded an OBE for his work on the 2012 Olympics.

Today, Christopher chairs the Isle of Wight Transport Infrastructure Board, which brings together the island’s transport operators. He’s also a non-executive Director of Heathrow Southern Railway, which aims to privately fund a link from Staines and Woking to Heathrow Airport.

Christopher has fond memories of seeing InterCity 225s at London King’s Cross in their shiny dark blue livery, and as Patron brings huge knowledge and experience to the 225 Group management team.

Chris Curtis
Director

Chris is passionate about public transport and has a wide range of commercial, operational and consultancy experience in both the bus and railway industries. He started with the TAS Partnership in 2001 where he was involved with the development of various transport networks as well as bids for three rail franchises.

He has since held the positions of Business Development Manager for Go North East, Commercial & Network Manager for Arriva North East and Senior Transport Programme Officer for Northumberland County Council. In these roles, Chris has always commanded high standards and has continually delivered strong patronage and revenue growth in challenging markets. As a result, Chris is a well-respected individual in his field.

Chris’s various roles have allowed regular journeys between London, the North East and Scotland, and as a result he has had many years travelling on InterCity 225s.

To Chris, the InterCity 225 revolutionised travel on the East Coast Mainline (ECML). The trains evoke memories of the highest levels of service (especially under Great North Eastern Railway) and deserve their place in ECML history.

Chris lives with his wife and two sons in Stockton-on-Tees. In his private time, he enjoys travelling and both playing and watching football.

Ben Denton-Cardew
Director

Being one of the youngest independent railway consultants in the UK, Ben has had numerous successes including aiding D.A.T.S in the procurement and supply of new couplings and drawbars for the Midland Main Line Overhead Line Equipment testing train. He also had the honour of heading Network Rail’s ‘RDIS’ project as assistant project manager, from which he learnt a great deal.

His love of the InterCity 225 came from spending years of travelling between Peterborough and Edinburgh from the age five onwards. This, understandably, is when the InterCity 225 sets left a profound impression on Ben’s life. Then again, coming from the sleepy branch lines of Suffolk, hearing the 6400hp of power draw in was always going to captivate the imagination of someone who once aspired to be the next Fred Dibnah. From then on, the rest was history. Ben founded the original Facebook group for class 91 images and information in 2012, which has gathered more than five thousand followers and has been a huge success.

Ben secured an academic scholarship to study Politics at the University of Glasgow. After completing his undergraduate degree with full honours, he is currently completing the Graduate Diploma in Law at City University, and is due to complete the BPTC in the next year.

In non-railway roles, Ben has worked in the House of Commons as a political advisor; in the course of this he has run several election campaigns. He is an officer at the Royal Naval Reserve Unit HMS President, where his leadership and public speaking has won both acclaim and award.

In his private passions, Ben plays the cello at a professional level, and restores classic Jaguar cars at his home in Suffolk.

Lee Brannan
Director

Lee's love of railways started in the 1980s while hanging around Durham station admiring all the classic traction crossing the viaduct. This included Class 37s, 40s, 47s, High Speed Trains and InterCity 225s, which have always been his favourite.

After Lee left school, he went straight into an electrical apprenticeship. While he still maintains these qualifications, he moved away from the tools into a management role in 2007 running large electrical and mechanical projects. This led him on to site management for railway infrastructure contractors, and since then he has never looked back.

In 2021, Lee secured his dream job as LNER Estates Project Manager, working across all its stations and running projects from refurbishment to new development. Lee has always been fascinated by the beautiful architecture that railway stations possess, so he sees it as an honour and a privilege to be involved with preserving this.

Lee has played a major role in the development of the 225 Group, bringing huge knowledge and management experience to the team. If you see Lee on an LNER train or station, please go over and say hello – he’s a friendly approachable chap.

In his spare time, Lee is a keen runner with numerous half marathons and more recently a London Marathon under his belt. He's also a keen gamer on the Xbox and likes to watch the Sunderland football team, although he begrudgingly says it's more for the social side of having a pint with the lads than watching the football!

Eric Holmes
Partnerships Manager

Eric spent 25 years working in the railway industry. Before privatisation, he gained considerable experience in the supply of spares for the repair and maintenance of locomotives and rolling stock, which included support for the InterCity 225s entering frontline passenger service. He then moved into infrastructure maintenance with Balfour Beatty and Carillion. His final job before taking early retirement was as Head of Procurement at the Forestry Commission based in Edinburgh.

Eric has held senior and director level roles during his career and brings a wealth of procurement and commercial knowledge to the 225 Group. With work in Scotland and family and friends in England, Eric spent many happy hours travelling up and down the East Coast Mainline (ECML) on InterCity 225s and developed an affection for their comfort and style. His other passion is rugby union – watching his son play at Network as well as following Sale Sharks in the English Premiership and Scotland at international level.

Fraser Pithie
Development Manager

Fraser spent 33 years working in the utility sector, giving him an in-depth knowledge of operations, investment, asset management, maintenance and, above all, customer service. He started at the ‘coal face’ in 1979 as a District Inspector for the then Severn Trent Water Authority and by 2007 had risen through the ranks of what became Severn Trent plc to be its Senior Operations Manager.

Fraser was a Parish Council Chairman at the age of 26 and became Britain’s youngest County Councillor when he was elected to Warwickshire County Council at 29 in 1990. He also chaired Warwickshire’s Police Authority between 1995 and 1997.

Fraser retired in 2011 to pursue railway journalism and photography, and he now writes for The Railway Magazine, RAIL, Modern Railways and Railnews. He has produced a wide range of features, which seek to question and challenge or bring new insight into old subjects.

Fraser's passion for the Class 91 locomotives arose from his photography and led to a major feature in The Railway Magazine that was published in 2020. His knowledge and experience along with his contacts in the rail industry make him the perfect person to manage the development of the 225 Group. His writing will also be a regular feature of the 225 Group members’ magazine LiveWire.

Ian Beardsley
Publications Manager

Ian works for Platform 5 Publishing as a News & Features Writer for Today's Railways UK magazine, covering a wide range of subjects across the national rail network, light rail and the heritage sector.

Ian is also a volunteer at the Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Centre. Through this he has over ten years' experience in railway preservation, including rolling stock restoration and the organisation and management of events.

Ian is a life-long railway enthusiast and has a large collection of images. It is through photography, often of earlier East Coast motive power at work on charter trains, that his interest in InterCity 225s developed. Ian lives in Sheffield only a short distance from the East Coast Mainline (ECML) and can often be found at the lineside camera in hand. Although many of his trips to London have been on the Midland Mainline, Ian has fond memories of travelling aboard InterCity 225s from Doncaster to Edinburgh and Glasgow, especially during the Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) era.

Ian brings to the 225 Group extensive knowledge of the whole railway industry, and as editor of our bi-annual LiveWire magazine will endeavour to put together all the latest news as well as interesting features about the InterCity 225s. In his spare time, Ian enjoys model making, walking, cycling and travelling around the railway network.

Jacob Baldwin
Marketing & Comms Manager

Jacob was a member of the customer experience panel throughout the Virgin Trains East Coast franchise, which gave him a unique insight into the final stages of the Project 21 ('Plush Tush') refresh of the fleet. While some of the more extravagant projects were sadly forgotten, Jacob was thrilled to see his suggestions and feedback on improvements to the Mark 4 carriage saloons reflected in the final designs.

Jacob has enjoyed many years of travel along the East Coast Mainline (ECML) from his home station of Skipton, so the iconic InterCity 225s and their high levels of comfort and quality have been a big part of his childhood. Jacob hopes to bring to the 225 Group his fascination for the way computers interface with the world, and considers the InterCity 225s to have been true trailblazers for technology many times over during their careers.

Although still a proud Northerner, Jacob moved south to Cambridge when he started University there in 2013. He fell in love with the Fens and continues to work for the University as an IT Developer. Beyond his day job, he can be found developing his award-winning entrepreneurial endeavours, or presenting programmes and running training sessions for community radio station Cam FM. In his spare time, Jacob enjoys the theatre and never needs much persuasion to head into town for some local beer after shows.

Dan Wright
Events Manager

Dan is our Events Manager and has brought a huge amount of creative skills and experience to the 225 Group. He works alongside Jacob, Angus and Will in our busy marketing and communications team, but also supports Ian with the production of our bi-annual LiveWire magazine.

Dan is the son of our Honorary Director Graeme Wright, and like his father has a great passion for InterCity 225s. Dan works for London North Eastern Railway (LNER) as a Safety and Operations Apprentice based in York. In his spare time, Dan is often at the lineside with his camera and his pictures have featured in both the railway press and 225 Group publications. At weekends, he can be regularly found at the Stadium of Light watching Sunderland AFC.

Will Quibell
Marketing & Comms Assistant

Will has been interested in railways since he was a little boy. He grew up in Surbiton, just a short distance from London, so he has many memories of seeing trains passing through the busy Clapham Junction station. Will also made frequent childhood trips to Helensburgh in Scotland to visit family, and his father’s dislike for tilting Pendolinos on the West Coast Mainline (WCML) meant that many were made by InterCity 225 on the East Coast Mainline (ECML). It was then that Will's passion for InterCity 225s began to develop.

Will moved to Eastbourne in 2014 and his interest in railways went with him. Four years later, in 2018, he set up as Coastway Will on Twitter and his railway adventures have since attracted more than 10,000 followers. Will was one of the first EXCEL members of the 225 Group and joined the management team as Marketing & Communications Assistant in 2022. In 2024, Will moved to Sheffield and started his career on the railways as a Customer Host for East Midlands Railway (EMR).

When Will isn't travelling between London and Yorkshire, he can be found on Hastings Diesel’s Thumper set. Away from the railway, Will enjoys musical theatre and has a keen interest in photography.

Patrick Jenkins
Operations Assistant

Patrick grew up near the East Coast Mainline (ECML) and has been interested in railways for most of his life. He joined the 225 Group management team in February 2021, and as Operations Assistant is responsible for collecting and recording a wide range of information about the InterCity 225s. This includes the diagrams and fleet lists on our website as well as the allocations that appear on social media and in the 225 Group archive.

Patrick is also a keen photographer with a good eye for detail, and his pictures feature in the 225 Group members' magazine LiveWire as well as other publicity. Patrick recently completed A-levels in French, Geography, Drama and Theatre and is now studying for a degree in Transport Management. He one day hopes to start a career on the railway.

Aidan Wilson
Administrative Assistant

Aidan's interest in railways goes back to time spent as a youngster perched on a bench at East Boldon station watching the varied traction on the Durham Coast Line. His love of InterCity 225s started with a visit to Newcastle in 2007, when he was impressed by the trains in their navy blue and red Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) livery.

Aidan left school when he was 16 and now works as a Performance Station Assistant for London North Eastern Railway (LNER) based at Durham. InterCity 225s have been a big feature of his role watching over the platforms, as they made regular appearances at Durham until Summer 2020. Aidan hopes to develop his career with LNER, and if you're ever passing through Durham don’t be afraid to stop him and say hello!

As Administrative Assistant, Aidan manages our busy mailbox, which is often the 'first port of call' for people wishing to contact the 225 Group. He also looks after many other day-to-day functions and hopes to help strengthen the relationship between the 225 Group and LNER. In his spare time, Aidan is an operational volunteer for the North Tyneside Steam Railway and a scout leader for his local group. He can also often be found in his garage tinkering with his ever growing "OO" gauge model railway.