Dave has had a life-long interest in the railway and been a member of the Supporters’ Association since 1971. He became actively involved in the Association in 1982 when the Groudle Glen Railway restoration commenced and spent 16 years closely involved with that project.  He has spent two periods as Editor of our journal Manx Steam Railway News: 1986-2001 and 2014-2019. For fifteen years from the mid-1980s, he also organised the Association’s last mainland-based Area Group meetings in the north-west of England.

Dave is a qualified Mechanical Design / Project Engineer with forty years experience in the Power Generation and Chemical Industries. These skillsets have been employed in several railway restorations and new builds, notably drop-side wagon M.78, three-plank wagon H.1, the restoration of the original slotted signal at Castletown, Mill Road Gate Lodge and a variety of other smaller projects including the replica running in boards along the closed lines. All of these have been run in a professional manner and brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

He spent several years actively campaigning for the addition of original Isle of Man Railway buildings to the Protected Buildings Register. This involved research and preparation of detailed Registered Building proposals and liaison with the island's Planning Department’s Conservation Officer. A total of eleven buildings were submitted to the Planning Department with all eventually achieving registered status.