The railway industry lost one of its most respected, knowledgeable, and charismatic professionals with the death of Allan McLean in Edinburgh on January 23. He was 78, and had been ill for some time.
Allan commanded the respect of the media and senior railway managers in equal measure. His legacy is his key role part in saving the Anglo-Scottish sleeper services, and the reopening of the Borders Railway between Edinburgh and Tweedbank.
A skilled newspaperman, Allan was a poacher turned gamekeeper several times, having been a press officer for BR Scottish and Eastern regions before joining the British Railways Board, returning to The Scotsman in 1979, and finally becoming Virgin Trains’ Public Affairs Manager for Scotland and the north of England in 1998.
He was on the inaugural run of the Advanced Passenger Train, at the launch of Eurotunnel, and rode on the celebrated 3hr 29min electric run from King's Cross to Waverley in September 1991.
The annual visits for the railway press to Scotland that Allan organised between 1999-2014 became legendary for their hospitality and informativeness.
He was a three times winner of the British Guild of Beer Writers Gold Tankard for best real ale writing, and persuaded Cameron's brewery of Hartlepool to create a special brew for the Rail 150 events in 1975.
In retirement, Allan was chair of the Campaign for Borders Rail and its Parliamentary Liaison Officer, and co-authored railway history books for Middleton Press. He was a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and renowned for his ability to deliver entertaining lectures without recourse to visual aids or notes.
Allan is survived by his wife Lynda and their three children and families. A daughter lives in New Zealand and their son Andrew is Curator of the National Railway Museum in York. Their other son lives in Australia.
HOWARD JOHNSTON and JOHN YELLOWLEES.
Comment as guest
Comments
No comments have been made yet.