It was with great sadness that the Eye heard this morning of the death of Bernard Staite.
An obituary will follow.
UPDATE: This from our International Correspondent...
Bernard Staite, known as BJS to his many friends, was the Big Daddy of the mainline steam movement.
He came to the railway from a career in industrial sales and was at Bulmers, the Hereford based cider producer, when in October 1971 the company sponsored the return to steam of GWR King Class No 6000 King George V, breaking a 3 year steam embargo imposed by a steamophobic British Railways Board.
He was an official of, and railtour organiser for, most of the subsequent steam hauled trains on BR as well as many on the newly privatised railway, where he latterly served at EWS.
BJS had an un-erring instinct for what was possible with special trains in an operating environment that was always indifferent and sometimes downright hostile to steam.
His contact book was as long as your arm and he was universally respected by working railwaymen and women.
To mark his retirement from EWS in 2005 a special train of invited guests, hauled by both a GWR King and Manor with the Orient Express British Pullman cars in tow, toured the GW mainline, reflecting BJS' enduring passion for the Great Western in general and the King class engines in particular.
He is survived by his wife Dorothy, daughter Jo and son Andy, the latter as MD of Past Time Rail and a successful railtour operator in his own right.
Requiescat in pace
UPDATE: This personal reflection from Pete's blog
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