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THE DAVID CLARKE RAILWAY TRUST

Registered charity 1104839 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY TRUST

The trust was established to contribute to the education of the public in railway transportation systems e.g. the preservation and operation of locomotives, rolling stock, signalling systems, buildings and the production of educational material and the promotion of events. The trust will continue to focus its attention particularly on the Great Central Railway and groups based there.

Causes: Education/training · Environment/conservation/heritage · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£1.6m
Latest spending
£845k
Registered
2004
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that unrestricted funds stood at £2,167,073, with a reserves policy focused on managing expenditure according to available funds rather than a fixed target. The charity reported a net loss on investments of £433,170, primarily driven by a decline in the value of its social investment in Great Central Railway PLC, resulting in a net income for the year of £345,575.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: manage its expenditure according to the funds available for distribution at the time (held: £2.2m)
“The Trustees policy is to manage its expenditure according to the funds available for distribution at the time. Incoming resources are variable being dependent upon donations, legacies received and investment returns.” — page 3
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Concessionary Loan to GCR PLC
“At 30 September 2025 the David Clarke Railway Trust advanced a loan of £170,000 (2024: ENIL) to Great Central Railway Pic, of which £165,581 (2024: £NIL) was outstanding at year end.” — page 25
“During the year Great Central Railway ple also used rolling stock owned by the Trust free of charge, but gave voluntary donations of £45,417 in relation to the use of these locomotives.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Free use of Rolling Stock by GCR PLC
“At 30 September 2025 the David Clarke Railway Trust advanced a loan of £170,000 (2024: ENIL) to Great Central Railway Pic, of which £165,581 (2024: £NIL) was outstanding at year end.” — page 25
“During the year Great Central Railway ple also used rolling stock owned by the Trust free of charge, but gave voluntary donations of £45,417 in relation to the use of these locomotives.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Duncan & Toplis Audit Limited. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 30/09/2025)

Total income
£1.6m
Total spending
£845k
Cost of raising funds
£13k
Reserves (reported)
£851k
Employees
0

Reported reserves equal ~12.1 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 0.8% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees · trustee networks

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
30/09/2025£1.6m£845k
30/09/2024£1.6m£895k
30/09/2023£2.0m£2.0m
30/09/2022£1.0m£909k
30/09/2021£1.9m£196k

Common questions

Is THE DAVID CLARKE RAILWAY TRUST financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that unrestricted funds stood at £2,167,073, with a reserves policy focused on managing expenditure according to available funds rather than a fixed target. The charity reported a net loss on investments of £433,170, primarily driven by a decline in the value of its social investment in Great Central Railway PLC, resulting in a net income for the year of £345,575. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Duncan & Toplis Audit Limited.

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

FunderSimilar charities fundedAmount to them
M J CAMP CHARITABLE FOUNDATION1£10k
THE MICHAEL MARSH CHARITABLE TRUST1£5k
SIR ROBERT GEFFERY'S ALMSHOUSE TRUST1£3k
GOWLING WLG (UK) CHARITABLE TRUST1£2k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE DAVID CLARKE RAILWAY TRUST£1.6m—0unclear—no doubt
THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST FY2025£4.1m—0unclear—no doubt
CHINNOR AND PRINCES RISBOROUGH RAILWAY ASSOCIATION LIMITED FY2025£200k—0above—no doubt
VINTAGE TRAINS CHARITABLE TRUST FY2025£3.6m——below—no doubt
THE PONTYPOOL AND BLAENAVON RAILWAY COMPANY (1983) LIMITED FY2024£234k—0unclear—no doubt
THE LOCOMOTIVE CONSERVATION AND LEARNING TRUST FY2025£235k—0unclear—no doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.