THE Friends of Handforth Station, celebrating their 21st anniversary, received a second Metrolink sign in the tram’s current colours to double the number of their Metro signs.

The sign was donated and presented to Mike Bishop and Hugh Everett by Danny Vaughan, Head of Metrolink.

Danny had previously worked for LUAS, the Dublin tram system when he had then presented a LUAS ‘Handforth’ sign to Mike.

Danny said: "It's great when people take such an interest and pride in their local station, and The Friends of Handforth are the leaders in this, having worked very hard with the local community, businesses and rail industry to make it an inviting place to visit.

“Having previously met Mike and provided the group with a LUAS style sign during my time in Dublin I had no hesitation in supporting their request for a new Metrolink sign to be displayed alongside their eclectic range."

Mike said: “I was delighted to meet up with Danny again, and we are grateful for this sign, which continues to update the story of our local rail history.”

The group has always aimed to display the fascinating rail history, including the names of all the railway companies that used the station since 1842, a replica name board from the L. M.S railway and a listed heritage British Railways name board.

The latest sign continues the history of the design of the local Metro and will be displayed with that received a number of years ago in the original colours.

This brings the total of ‘foreign’ Handforth railway signs to 14, ranging from Hong Kong MTR to London Underground via the Isle of Man and SNCF - French railways.