Today, October 21st 2025 is our third birthday. Join us as we reflect on our journey so far and what you can expect from us going into the future.
Foreword:
First thing first, we don’t have any cake to send out to anyone… it would probably go off by the time you get it… Sorry!
Jokes aside welcome to this very special blogpost as Rail Tags has been kicking around for three years now, we’re just as old as the Elizabeth Line and Class 197s.
Our evolution since our One Year Of Rail Tags Blogpost has been significant.
In this blogpost we will be talking about the improvements we have made towards Rail Tags, our achievements since year 1 and what you can expect going forward plus our giveaway winner for a Class 91 Rail Tag in LNER white vinyl.
A lot has changed since October 2023 and in the next two years I expect things to keep getting better and better. What we have accomplished would not have been anywhere near possible without YOUR support. Every tag you purchase, piece of feedback you give, follow on social media and blogpost you read has gone towards understanding what it is you want and better supporting the rail industry including our partners which we have made tags for to help fund restoration and preservation efforts. (Such as the Class 423/9 supporting the 400 Series Preservation Group and the Clacton Express Preservation Group – Now the A.C.M.U. Society.)
And that is only our publicly available releases, we still have 3+ partnerships to announce. One you will find out with Edition 11 and more will unravel throughout 2026…
Our identity and values have solidified greatly since our first year anniversary bringing you and the rail industry to the forefront of what we do, this isn’t just a fun passion project anymore.
Improving Rail Tags:
A lot of the money we have made since we started has gone back into the project.
When we started back in 2022 we used to outsource the laser engraving process (up to the Class 313) which we now do in house. In January 2024 with demand for tags growing, the requirement to cut costs and speed up the production cycle we scrambled enough money together to invest into our own fibre laser engraver. I would engrave hundreds of tags a day in my own bedroom, sand them over a sink and cut the backing cards to insert the tag rings into. (yes, I used to make Rail Tags in my bedroom for a short time)
The most recent way we have improved our efficiency and productivity was to move all production into our own little office in my garden.
After finishing the Class 309 Tags in March 2025 a decision was made to put our focus on giving Rail Tags a proper home to work from. This columnated in our “Project Depot” which contains everything we need to produce the highest quality tags.
Starting after the 309 tags were handed over to the Clacton Express Preservation Group in March, we spent the rest of the month decommissioning a derelict shed that rotting an sitting on land that was planned to facilitate our new home.
Then in April it all came together as the new shed was constructed.
A significant upgrade on the rotting pile of wood and spiderwebs that came before it.
Being able to move the business into it’s own enclosed space has been key to our improved consistency and timeframes, optimising storage space and capacity at the same time.
A belt sander was introduced to remove rough edges from the tags as well as give the bare metal sides a shiny finish.
The laser engraver was also moved into the new shed with a custom dust and fume filter extraction unit fitted to keep the nasties of producing tags out.
My favourite part of the project has been making use out of old D78 Stock seats which I have had in storage since Christmas 2016 (nearly nine years!) and turn them into furniture for visitors and friends. You can find some photos of this work on our Instagram and Facebook pages.
As well as other additions that I haven’t touched on, all Editions ever produced have been proudly preserved on a corkboard by our desk space, a reminder of how far we continue to push. (You may also notice a reference to our Class 313 tags in the image)
We called it Project Depot as every train calls one home and hopefully should explain our long absence from Edition 8’s release to the release of Edition 9&10 back to back.
On that note, let’s talk further in detail about Edition 9, what we call our definitive release of 2025.
Edition 9: The Class 507 – Our Defining Moment Of 2025.
It is something I didn’t think would happen despite your requests but it somehow it did… and it has bought us to a whole new level and given us a reputation we have to stand by for as long as we continue.
I’m speaking with big words over what looks to be a simple release from us but it was an immense project behind the scenes.
The story of how Edition 9 came to be started back in October last year when we came in contact with ROSCO Angel Trains through our work on the Class 309 tags.
Angel Trains asked us if we could produce tags as a commemorative gift for those at Angel, Merseyrail, Rail Operations Group and Unimetals and in return use the rest of the metal to make tags for all of you.
Work on the Class 507s started all the way back in February when we first received the metal from Newport. With Project Depot starting a month later and the requirement to process multiple giant sections of bodyside the process took longer then our usual production cycle.
- Flat panels had to be cut out of the skeletons
- The skeletons were also cut into what we call “Bones” which are basically structure cuts
- Bitumen and fibreglass insulation on the inner side had to be processed & removed
Priority was given to Angel Trains’ requirements with engraving work being finished by the end of May and handed over to their London office.
The tags were welcomed by all who received them as part of the Class 507 Disposal and the Class 777 Introduction programmes and featured a bespoke backing card in inverse colours to our public release, their own numbering and the first ever “Staff Edition” Rail Tags (and not the last, we want to make more for our colleagues in the industry).
After work had finished work commenced on the public line of tags which first debuted at The Greatest Gathering alongside the Class 91 Rail Tags.
We expect to have Class 507 Livery Skin Sections available for purchase sometime soon as we expand our range. We have also identified the Class 507 line of tags for a re-release should demand be high enough but that will be held to a vote and decided by you. A Class 507 Wave 2 is facing competition from the 91 and 313 which are also shortlisted.
The Greatest Gathering – Our Most Important Moment So Far.
Undoubtedly the flagship event of this years Railway 200 festival, being able to participate by bringing Rail Tags to The Greatest Gathering has been such an honour and a moment we’ll never forget… being able to stand alongside great rolling stock and people alike was special.
Attending was a total shot in the dark for us, we had no idea if they would accept our approach and we had never attended a physical event before which required a lot of planning and time.
Our plan was to sell remaining stock from the Class 86, 423 and Class 309 lines whilst double debuting the Class 91 and 507 Rail Tags prior to an online release.
We also sold other railway related items such as number panels, Class 507 livery panels, Class 313 205 cab flaps and more.
On Thursday the 31st of July, we packed the car and drove all the way from our base in West London straight to Litchurch Lane for set up.
We were joined at The Greatest Gathering by our friends at https://www.transportbadges.co.uk selling their diverse range of rail and bus related badges which you can see on the right.
The Greatest Gathering was an amazing experience overall. It was amazing to meet many of you in person and share our passion for the railways with others who had just discovered us. If you are one of these people that had a chat with us or simply came up to our stall hello!
With a small recap of our year out of the way, let’s talk about the future.
Looking Down The Line:
When I started Rail Tags back in 2022 it was nothing but a small passion project with a big risk attached to it.
Would this work? Would I be wasting my time and money into making something people wouldn’t want?
As time went on the answer to those questions became clearer and clearer as more and more of you started to spread the word and people continued to approach us about working with Rail Tags.
As I mentioned previously, we have a few collaborative releases planned down the line with the next one being Edition 11 and then Edition 13 in 2026. Edition 12 is internally planned to be a “home” release. At the moment we want to strike a balance between working with the industry and making solo tag projects which we want to do by having a partnership followed by a home release then back to partnership, home and so on if we can.
The pattern of releases has currently been 2022: x1, 2023: x2, 2024: x 3 and 2025 with x4. We’ve demonstrated the ability to continuously do more year by year whilst achieving a balance with my own personal life and career.
I can’t promise 2026 will have x4 or x5 releases. One of the most important things I have learnt from Rail Tags is to miss our announced windows for a blogpost or new release which I no longer will do to ensure your expectations aren’t laid to waste and taking pressure off my shoulders.
A big factor in this decision was moving up a step in my career. I used to work part time as a train dispatcher which I am now a full time guard. Regardless of the fact there is a good balance of days working and days off which provides me with sufficient time to progress Rail Tags’ goals every week or two.
Our next release will come as early as possible in 2026 which we recently teased to our social media pages in partnership with a heritage railway. That’s all you’ll hear and see of Edition 12 until we’re ready to reveal it but all design work has been completed and as of November 4th we are ready to get the tags cut before engraving.
Announcing Our Newsletter: Right On Track.
It is something that we got asked about at The Greatest Gathering. “Do you have a newsletter?” and it is something I have planned to implement when the time was right. With a considerable amount of people discovering us and not having access to social media or preferring having updates sent directly to their inbox I am glad to announce our newsletter.
Introducing Right On Track:
To keep things short and sweet Right On Track will contain:
- Announcements on new Editions and release dates
- Edition release announcements
- New Blogpost entries
- General Updates on Rail Tags like what we’re working on and more.
That is what you can expect to hear from us if you decide to subscribe to Right On Track and if you do, thank you!
If you wish to subscribe, it is available on our Home page.
Thank You For Contributing To This Blogpost!
I’m very grateful for all of you have who have submitted photos of your fleet to us via social media for this blogpost. Here’s to all of you, thank you for being a part of our journey, it really means a lot.
Here are the entries for our contest to win a Class 91 Rail Tag in LNER White with the winner being chose at random using Wheel Decide.
What amazing photos, and a spin of the wheel we can confirm our winner is Mr Oliver Jones from Facebook who’s photo is in the top middle row. Congratulations Oliver! please contact us to arrange your tags delivery.
For those of you who were unlucky not to win or unable to participate do not worry. We will have more giveaways coming. (I might decide to make it an annual event on our birthday who knows?)
Thank you for reading, see you in 2026.
Yours truly, Aryan.
