Giving trains a second lease of life beyond the scrapyard since 2022.
We are Rail Tags.
An Introduction to Rail Tags:
Hi everyone and thanks for checking out our about section!
My name is Aryan and I started Rail Tags as a passion project in 2022 to help preserve pieces of our rich railway history.
I’m born and raised in London. Meaning I’ve been used to the sights and sounds of trains and an enthusiast before I learnt to how to walk. The first train I went on which sparked my interest in trains is the 1973 Stock.
I remember long ago jumping on a train from my local station at the time to go to Heathrow Airport to watch the planes take off and land with my grandfather. There was something so captivating about trains to my young mind. Maybe it was the colourful and sleek design of the 1973 Stock mixed with a stunning LU corporate livery or the thunderous sounds of shoe clatter and hearing them roar into the station and fill up what was once an empty platform.
When I was in my teens I distinctly remember seeing trains I’ve adored and grown up with like the C69/77 & D78 Stock go into retirement. and replaced by the S7 Stock. It was sad realising they would disappear forever from our Underground network. Most were scrapped and turned into things like cans and razor blades, completely unrecognisable from the hard working life they once had and never to be seen again.
As a rail enthusiast myself I get how much of a sad sight it is to see great workhorses come to the end of their working lives, especially the ones you really love knowing one day you’ll wake up and jump on a train realising it wasn’t what it once was. Times always change and we’ll see this cycle continue for as long as our railways exist, it is something I find very exciting about the railways.
Despite these times I always found a bit of excitement when it came to the chance of collecting pieces from these vehicles, saving whatever I could to cherish my memories and what once ran on such familiar rails. I remember scouring eBay and anywhere else trying to find parts from the C & D Stock trains.
Rail Tags came about as nothing but an idea in my mind a few years ago. As an aviation enthusiast too I found it awesome being able to collect tags of aircraft skin that flew over my head as a child such as the British Airways Airbus A319s and Boeing 747-400s, not forgetting other aircraft I am generally fond of such as the F14 Tomcat.
I remember thinking to myself how much I would love to see this done with trains, it would have been perfect. There came a point in my mind where I said to myself if the opportunity arose I would give it a go… which happened not too long after, all this came to fruition thanks to seeing a MK3 panel for sale one day and realising that the stars had aligned. It has been a remarkable journey since that day bringing me new insight into our industry and learning in depth about different types of rolling stock as well as engaging wherever possible with like minded people passionate about rolling stock, especially the preservation sector.
Maybe one day we’ll be able to contribute to saving and preserving a train ourselves? If you asked me what I would do anything to save, it would be the grafting and nostalgic 1973 Stock which has helped carry people to and from Heathrow since the eighties, as well as carrying me to my passion of trains.
Meet Sam, my good friend and Rail Tags’ Graphics Designer:
Hi, my name is Sam. I joined the Rail Tags journey as a graphic designer when it first began as a casual side project with my friend Aryan, however this quickly developed into a broader derivative of my general interest in the Railways. This has involved me in several carefully considered sets of line art, as well as photography in numerous scrap yards.
Growing up, I used to love the sounds of the Class 465/9 and was fascinated by how people in the industry have this technology down to a science. I’ve always been strongly captivated by the mechanical intricacies of the railways, and this is a passion that I uphold to this day. In my spare time, I am often tinkering around with little DIY projects, namely the larger-scale shift of Rail Tags production to become more of an in-house job. I take great pride in what I create, and hope to inspire any other hobbyists who takes interest in creating something that works, something that you can call your own.
I work as a sound designer primarily, but also as a technical artist. My main skill sees the sound preservation of trains, and subsequently, high quality recreations for other enthusiasts to listen to and enjoy.
I am the graphics designer behind the tags; those lines you see carefully etched into those little metal plates with all those intricate details? That’s the process of a true enthusiast bringing passion to hand-held pieces of history.
Aryan has been a good friend of mine for a long time now, and I can confidently say that we both make a wicked team together. Rail Tags would not be what it is without our teamwork and his forward attitude to preserving significant pieces of our railway history.
You can find examples of Sam’s exceptional sound engineering where he makes sound mods here: SamTSM
Our Purpose Runs On Rails:
Once a train has lived out their purpose of transporting millions of people or tons of freight over millions of miles over several decades they are usually retired and replaced with modern stock which will go on to live the same life. This is where we come in.
Now retired, unwanted and demoted of that purpose which gave them identity most if not all are sent to the scrappers. Some pave way for other members by donating their useful components to help keeps others alive while luckier vehicles are cleaned up and preserved for future generations to admire static or operational.
We’re here and try our best for the unlucky ones that are doomed to be scrapped. The ones we are lucky enough to help give a second lease of life are usually stripped completely with most parts being sold onto enthusiasts to cherish once the trip leaves these trains as a pile of unrecognised metals, wires and other things.
Before that you are left with an empty bodyshell on wheels void of most of the soul and character that made it what it was. What gives us our soul and character is being able to upcycle as much of the metals as we can into a pocket sized collectable tag that proudly respects the life these great machines once served us. Serving them back in return to be remembered, carried around or simply displayed.
No matter how popular or unpopular a train may be, from the HSTs that saved our mainlines to the much loathed Pacers of our branch lines seeing such important machines of our rails rest their wheels it will always invoke emotion among us enthusiasts. Here at Rail Tags, there is space for any rolling stock in our fleet.
Whether you are someone who wants to own a piece of your favourite train, someone with fond memories that these machines have helped shape or worked with in the past there is a Rail Tag for everyone.
We are Rail Tags.
Photo on right: London Underground A60 Tube Stock awaiting it’s fate before heading to the siding in the sky (CC BY-SA 2.0 – Bengley1)
