The Friends of Handforth Station are pleased to announce the arrival of the Bug Train on Platform 2 ….

This traditional steam locomotive with its two carriages is not going to any destination; it is instead built of wood and intended to be a home for all sorts of insects and other invertebrates for the next few years.

The Bug Train was built by young members of the FoHS (with help from their parents), and installed in early July. Three separate families produced the train, and its installation observed strict Social Distancing guidelines.

The Bug Train represents a non-specific steam “shunter” locomotive of the 1910s, with two open carriages.

Following the design principle of a Bug Hotel, it is stuffed with brushwood, twigs, leaves, some bamboo and a couple of old bricks. This material is designed to shelter creepy-crawlies during their autumn and winter hibernations; installing it in high summer gives it time to become part of the natural landscape and easily accessible.

Hugh Everett, Secretary of FoHS, commented:
“The Bug Train is part of two commitments of our group: to support nature and the environment, and to provide a welcoming and friendly environment for users of the station (human and non-human !). It complements our Hedgehog Hotel next door.”

He added, “We’re proud that we managed to assemble it in three separate places in Handforth, under lockdown conditions, and then install it once we were allowed back onto the station platforms.”

The FoHS Bug Train has not yet formally been named.

It can be seen behind the fence next to the Stockport-bound platform at Handforth Station