Anthony Bernard Beard, known to many as simply “Tone” was born on 1st April 1948 in Quinton, Birmingham, the third of three children, being younger brother to John and Dorothy. As a child he was an altar boy but it wasn’t unheard of for him to miss the odd mass to indulge in his hobby of train-spotting! Tone had many family holidays on the island and fell in love with the place as a result of these annual trips. He joined the Manx Railway Society (as it was then known) in 1967, later becoming the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters’ Association, and was quick to join their committee, becoming editor of the Manx Steam Railway News and later chairman and secretary, a post he retained until his death.

His devotion to the Isle of Man Railway ultimately saw him moving to live on the Isle of Man in August 1969 at the age of 21, first living in Stanley Place and it was at this time that he met lifelong friend the late Alastair Lamberton. He loved the people and tranquil places of his new adopted home and never lost his passion for the island and its lifestyles; his first job on arrival was as the first ever fully qualified legal executive on the island, at Kelly Luft and he later worked at Dickinson Cruickshank & Co., for several years, finally moving to the Mount Pleasant offices of Mark Moroney Advocates in 1988 where he remained in employments until his death. Tony met first wife Margaret in 1973 and they were married a year later in 1974.

A well-respected character in the local legal fraternity, Tone’s was a familiar face in the island’s business centre of Athol Street for many years. And, of course at the far end of Athol Street are the golden turrets of Douglas Railway Station home to Tone’s main passion the Isle of Man Railway; he was a tireless campaigner during the railway’s darkest days in the 1970s when its whole existence was under threat, and was often outspoken - though never unheard!

He and many others dedicated virtually all of his free time to the cause until, in 1978, the railway was nationalised and its future longevity was secured. Following this, when the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters’ Association took on the ambitious task of resurrecting the Groudle Glen Railway in 1982, Tony quickly embraced the project and was soon to be known as “Mister Groudle” and became the group’s spokesman. Together with close friend Alastair and a close-knit group of enthusiasts they put in many hours to the restoration which ultimately saw the railway re-open on 23rd May 1986, but it was Tone who was the driving force behind the project, and he who was most closely associated with it ever after. Tony was heavily involved in the return of the line’s original locomotive Sea Lion to service, and built up a rapport with the staff on the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway in Cumbria, nearby to the B.N.F.L. plant where the locomotive was re-built, and the lads at Groudle still retain very strong links with the boys from the “Ratty”, largely thanks to both Tony and Alastair. Of course, Sea Lion returned to the glen in 1987, and this was something of which Tone was tremendously proud, giving him much pleasure over the years.

The railway was featured on the television in 1988 as part of The Train Now Departing series looking back at twenty years since the end of steam operations in the U.K. and it was of course Tony that stepped forward to be interviewed in front of the cameras. He was mischievously haunted afterwards by his comments, often being reminded of them when doing a particularly menial or difficult task on the railway (part of his hands-on management style), but now it seems more apt than ever to repeat them:-

“it’s a labour of love and I think I can say that for everyone who comes

down here; to see the smiles on the children’s faces makes it all worthwhile”.

These are true words indeed and ones that speak volumes for his dedication to the cause. As the railway grew and grew, another generation of volunteers arrived on the scene, and in many ways these lads became Tony’s surrogate children, they grew up to respect and admire him as if part of one big happy family.  In 1997 he married Lynda, whom he had met and known from his days on the railway in the 1970s which brought to him a new lease of life.

An habitual worrier by his own admittance, he became more relaxed and it was Lynda that helped him through the loss of two good friends in 1999, Alastair Lamberton and of course Mike Goodwyn, or “The Goodie” as he was known by Tone and everyone else. Although Tone was modest about it, he was a font of knowledge on the Isle of Man and its railways, second only to the late James I.C. Boyd and loved to reminisce over his time as station master at Castletown and later Douglas Station, and his many hours of volunteer work on the railway, over a glass or three of good wine.

In more recent times Lynda and he became godparents to Antony who (fortunately!) shared his passion for trains! This inevitably led to a plethora of Thomas The Tank Engine toys appearing in the house, and then a g-scale train set being laid on the carpet of his lounge so even when he wasn’t up to making an appearance in the glen he could still play trains (all for the benefit of his godson, of course!) He must have clocked up many hours driving Caledonia behind the settee, round the coffee table, past the television . . .!

Even when he became ill last year, Tony lost none of his enthusiasm for Groudle and the Isle of Man Railway, and continued to visit the glen with the gang until October, and keeping up to date with all the political matters on the “big” railway, and attending the annual narrow gauge staff gathering at Ravenglass, one of his favourite places, in November. The boys of the railway Supporters’ Association and Groudle Glen Railway and legal profession have lost a great benefactor and friend; Tone was a very special person to a great many people and will never be forgotten.

Grant Taylor