A RAILWAY MISSION calendar sent out by the national chaplaincy team has inspired a member of staff at Margate station to embark on a railway pilgrimage of her own: a journey to all 12 of its iconic locations during 2025 as the UK railway system marks its 200th anniversary.
Kudakwashe Osoba, who is one of the Southeastern Railway platform team at Margate, describes herself as the travelling public’s “go-to person” for help and information, “and hopefully, a source of comfort as well”.
“It was the little spark I needed to get me moving and doing something adventurous,” Mrs Osoba says. “I looked at all the pretty pictures and thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice. . . ?’”
She enthused family members, especially her daughter, Dani, a musician and community artist. They are longstanding worshippers at Sittingbourne Baptist Church, where Dani is a worship leader and “who had been getting the railway bug and is seriously being bitten by it now”.
They are attempting to reproduce each of the photos, putting themselves in the frame at each station. The Osoba children were well used to sending home pictures as proof of their location and a safe arrival, and had initially attempted to match the journey to the calendar month. The constraints of daylight hours led them instead to opt for visiting each station at the best opportunity during the year.
Along the way, they jot down overheard conversations, spiritual reflections, and observations — some in the form of poetry, perhaps later to be turned into song. They are hoping to finance travel to the more expensive locations via GoFundMe, with all additional funds going to the Railway Mission — “a cause close to my heart”, Mrs Osoba says.
“They’ve brought their deep Christian faith, their gift for music and their heart for service to every single stop,” the executive director of Railway Mission, Liam Johnston, said, speaking of the mother-and-daughter team. “It’s a rare blend of worship and wanderlust, family and faith, creativity and calling.”
At the beginning of the year, Southeastern’s Wellbeing Lead, Lee Woolcott-Ellis, who was awarded a British Empire Medal for establishing a mental-health charter for the industry, gave his colleagues a calendar. It features a wide range of locations and locomotives, accompanied by a Bible verse.
The image for February is of the Docklands Light Railway, accompanied by Psalm 118.24 — “This is the day that the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad in it.” June’s location is the coastal St Bees, which has Proverbs 22.4 — “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honour and life.” Llangollen features in July with Proverbs 21.21 — “He who follows righteousness and mercy finds life, righteousness and honour.”
The Railway Mission provides chaplaincy support across the UK rail industry. In 2024, it recorded 9814 situations in which chaplains assisted rail staff through personal crises, bereavement, workplace stress, and trauma from railway incidents, besides offering general well-being support. Chaplains also support the railway community when fatalities happen, such as the derailment of a passenger train from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth in October, in which one person was killed and 15 were injured.
The charity teamed up with Railway 200 to create the anniversary calendar. A series of events this year culminates in the commemoration, on 27 September, of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825, considered to mark the birth of the railway in Britain.
“I’ve told them, ‘Don’t send me your international calendar,’” Mrs Osoba said. “That’ll give me even bigger ideas.”
