A Real Triumph: How BCIMO’s Family Day United the Community and Raised Over £8,000 for Charity

Nine months in the making, BCIMO’s first-ever Family Day brought history, innovation, and community together under one roof – and the result was nothing short of a triumph.

Held on 17 May 2025, the Family Day welcomed more than 550 visitors, including a vibrant mix of industry professionals, rail enthusiasts, local families, and members of the wider community. Marking the 200th anniversary of the modern railway, Family Day paid tribute to the past, present, and future of rail – while raising over £8,000 for five incredible charities: The Kaleidoscope Plus Group, Railway Benefit Fund, 4Louis, Railway Children, and Young Lives vs. Cancer.

The idea behind Family Day was simple: open the doors to a nationally significant rail innovation centre and create a day that would engage, entertain, and inspire. It took nine months of planning – from shaping the schedule and designing experiences to managing logistics, stakeholder engagement, marketing, and volunteer support – to bring it to life.

The event was spread across two levels of BCIMO’s Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre – with indoor zones hosted on Level 2 and outdoor attractions across the Rail Development & Test Site on Level 0. Each area was creatively themed as its own ‘station’, offering a full day of discovery and entertainment for visitors of all ages.

LEVEL 2: INSIDE THE CENTRE

Ticket Office: Served as the main check-in point where guests were welcomed, wristbands issued, and raffle tickets and merchandise were made available – including 3D printed items, and bookends and doorstops crafted from real pieces of rail track by Dudley College of Technology.

Presentation Platform: Featured a packed programme of talks and appearances, including the official opening by Pete Waterman OBE; engaging sessions on the history and future of rail – with contributions from our main event partner, Coventry City Council, sponsors including Cirencester Community Railway and Clean Futures SMEs Grinsty Rail and Treeva; a lively Children’s Hour with mascots and balloon modelling; and heartfelt charity presentations celebrating the causes supported throughout the day.

Discovery Point: Showcased visitor attractions and community organisations from across the region. This included local favourites from Discover Dudley, educational providers, and heritage groups such as the Stourbridge Lion 2029. Visitors also explored innovation in action, from live 3D printing by Construct3D to interactive demonstrations with NextGen Ri‘s robot dogs.

Modeller’s Halt: Immersed visitors in the world of model railways, with beautifully detailed layouts and interactive demonstrations provided by Cradley Heath Model Railway Club, Birmingham Model Railway Club, West Midlands Narrow Gauge Group, West Midlands 009 Group, and hobbyist Will Jarman and son.

Creative Corner: A colourful arts and crafts zone delivered by silver sponsor Powered by CAN, offering creative fun for children and families.

Driver’s Depot: Gave guests the chance to experience BCIMO’s photo-realistic tram simulator, testing their skills by driving a tram through a virtual Coventry or along the test track.

LEVEL 0: OUTSIDE THE CENTRE

Ride Central North: A lively area offering classic fairground rides, trampolines, football goal challenges, and a real fire engine – courtesy of West Midlands Fire Service – for children to climb aboard and explore.

Luncheon Junction: A mouth-watering mix of food and drink, provided by Skyline Catering, Savva Bars, and others – including wood-fired pizzas, waffles, cupcakes and non-alcoholic cocktails.

Market Square: Hosted a mix of family-friendly stalls selling toys, bubbles, books, and sweets.

T69 Tram: Visitors stepped aboard the final Midland Metro T69 tram to operate before retirement – now repurposed by BCIMO as a test vehicle for future rail innovation. As Gold Sponsors, West Midlands Metro were represented by former drivers who shared their experiences, alongside a live innovation demonstration from Grinsty Rail.

Showtime Station: Brought the site to life with a vibrant mix of entertainment, including live music from the Buskerteers, a rousing performance by Black Country Brass, dance, acrobatic and taekwondo displays, Curious Cargo‘s The Lost Baggage Porters – courtesy of Black Country Touring – a marching drill by the Dudley Sea Cadets, and roaming mascots engaging with the crowd.

Ride Central South: The headline attraction of the day – an exclusive ride aboard the Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR) vehicle. Over 400 visitors travelled along the full length of BCIMO’s test track, through the tunnel, and around the 15m-radius loop – a first-of-its-kind experience ahead of the vehicle’s public demonstration, now taking place in Coventry city centre.

As the event drew to a close, we were also delighted that Councillor Pete Lee, the newly appointed Mayor of Dudley, was able to join us to announce the raffle prize winners.

Thanks to proceeds from ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandise, and the charity raffle, we raised over £8,000 — all of which will directly benefit our five chosen charities, supporting children’s health, bereavement support, mental wellbeing, and the railway community.

A heartfelt thank you goes to all the sponsors, stallholders, volunteers, performers, and speakers who helped bring the day to life — we truly couldn’t have done it without you.

🎥 WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS

Relive the energy and excitement of the day in our official highlights video, produced by our brand agency and gold sponsor, eleven10creative.

📸 EXPLORE OUR PHOTO GALLERY

Want to see more? View our full gallery of images from across the day’s zones and attractions – taken by our two volunteer photographers: Brian Irvine, Owner of Biopic Photography and Anthony Williams, photography student and owner of Tony’s Eyes. 

WHAT PEOPLE SAID

The Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Pete Lee, said:

“We had an excellent time at the open day, it was a great event and we really enjoyed it. We even booked the brass band playing there for the upcoming mayoral order of service event. We were really well looked after and it was a great day out.”

“What a superb event that was. I was very interested to support the BCIMO family open day to see for the first time how one of the railway industry’s R&D facilities could deliver such an event. What you delivered was a real triumph, with so many things happening in so many places… BCIMO acquitted itself incredibly well for the local community.”

“What an amazing day! The whole event really went well, everything was so well organised and thoughtfully planned – there was definitely something for everyone. It was truly a pleasure getting to know you and your amazing colleagues, and a great opportunity to gain an insight into what happens there.”

“Just a note to say that we very much enjoyed our day at the Light Rail Innovation Centre. It seemed to be a great success and there seemed to be a very good attendance – well done! The climax for us was the ride through the tunnel… A great day out so thanks for inviting us.”

“We had a really good time – a busy stand with lots of questions and, of course, interest in the robots!”

“I just wanted to reach out to say a huge congratulations on the incredible success of Saturday. The turnout was nothing short of impressive, with a diverse crowd including families, friends, and local community members… The energy in the air was electric.”

“The opportunity to travel on the Coventry VLR vehicle was undoubtedly a big draw and, in my opinion at least, an impressive experience. You did very well in putting together an event which balanced the differing expectations and interests of the family group and railway enthusiast audiences.”

“I came with an eleven-year-old and we had a wonderful time – as well as the interesting ride on the VLR vehicle, a friendly firefighter let the youngster sit in the cab of the fire engine, a friendly former tram driver let him sit in the tram cab, and he enjoyed a go on the driver simulator too. Also enjoyed the lovely model railways. Huge credit to the volunteers – calm, friendly, well-organised.”

The five charities supported by the day also shared their appreciation of the funds raised:

4Louis said: “That’s amazing – what a fantastic amount raised! We’re so grateful for your support. Victoria and Amber said they had a great day too!”

Railway Benefit Fund commented: “Well done on an awesome Family Day – it was great to be there and lovely to say hi in real life. Thank you for involving us!”

The Kaleidoscope Plus Group shared: “This is absolutely fantastic! The money raised will really help support people in the community with mental ill health. Thank you so, so much from all of us at KPG!”

Railway Children said: “This is a fantastic amount to raise! Thank you once again for choosing Railway Children – it’s been a pleasure to be part of such an amazing event.”

Young Lives vs Cancer added simply: “Thank you for a wonderful day.”

IN THE MEDIA

The buzz around Family Day extended far beyond the event itself, with several contributors and media platforms capturing the experience for wider audiences:

• Lawrance Rose, popular YouTuber and creator of Lawrie’s Mechanical Marvels, and guest speaker in the History of Rail session, released a video documenting the day for his enthusiastic online community.
• Richard Clews’ son Daniel shared a YouTube video of their “adventure to BCIMO”, highlighting the excitement and personal impact of the day.
• Black Country Radio broadcast live from the event, bringing the energy and excitement directly to listeners across the region.
• And the Express & Star ran a feature on Pete Waterman, focusing on his powerful speech celebrating the contributions of railway workers throughout history.

For more information on BCIMO or the VLRNIC, please visit the BCIMO website or click Contact Us to make an enquiry / sign up to our mailing list.