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Somewhere in the region of 600 people regularly give a little of their spare time, helping to run, restore and maintain the Great Central Railway. Some come during the week but the majority of volunteers tend to come at weekends. This page gives information that maybe useful to anyone interested in coming and helping.
No matter how you join or whatever you chose to do you are most welcome. Every volunteer who joins in some way enables the Great Central Railway to 'recreate for present and future generations the experience of main line railway operation during the best years of steam'.
The railway is split into different departments who each have a specialist area. However it must be born in mind that no one department is any more important than the other. Without all of them the railway would cease to be!
The departments on the railway are as follows;
Obviously some departments are much larger than others and the scope of how volunteers operate can also differ. In order to keep essential posts manned the railway also has a small base of full time staff, many of whom also started as volunteers. If a department contains full time staff please do not let this dissuade you - it merely means that volunteers are short in supply! The more people that assist, the more progress we can make.
Although the railway is very keen to attract new volunteers, there have to be one or two restrictions, mostly for safety reasons. Prospective volunteers are invited to contact the railway to arrange an introduction into the preferred department. When and how often you wish to come and volunteer is entirely up to you. However it should always be born in mind that if you have said you are coming people will be relying on you and you should therefore make every effort to attend. Also please be aware that when you come to volunteer, although unpaid, you should be prepared to undertake all the duties that the job entails. If you need to come to 'grice' then please do so on a day when you are not working! In order to assist each departmental head it would be appreciated that if you do not wish to continue to volunteer you advise them as soon as possible. Overall, volunteering on the railway is extremely rewarding, interesting and will open up a whole new hobby to you. It always amazes me to see hoards of visitors paying money in order to get near to a steam railway when by giving up a day every so often............ Enjoy your time volunteering!
The departments of the Great Central Railway are as follows;
Split into Running and Engineering the Locomotive (sometimes known as motive power) department is very popular with volunteers, possibly part due to the association with wanting to become a train driver. However, please be advised that driving is something that only the seriously committed will achieve.
Activities undertaken by this department include;
Should you wish to be involved in an engineering sense, i.e. maintenance and restoration, prior engineering knowledge is not essential but is desirable. Clearly the ability you have will dictate the type of work you can be involved with but there is always plenty of ash that needs moving or stay nuts that need tapping!
For budding footplate crews there is a set practice that trainees follow. While this may seem a little long and tortuous it should be born in mind that the driver of a train is responsible for the safety of our visitors and must be an accomplished professional. The 'have a go' way of thinking is most definitely not welcome here. You will require good health and eyesight and would normally start as a cleaner, helping to light up engines, clean them, both externally and removing ash internally, and help dispose them. Very early mornings or late nights are also common place. The work is hard and dirty. Having spent some time as a cleaner and learned about the workings of locomotives, volunteers of suitable ability are chosen to train as a fireman. This training covers all aspects from rules and regulations to keeping steam. After completing a suitable number of turns and passing an examination firemen are 'passed out'. After completing a suitable amount of time as a fireman, and proving to be of the correct calibre, you may be asked to undertake training to become a driver.
Volunteers with suitable experience will progress more quickly although a grounding period for all is required to show commitment and to become established with our railway which can differ in its operation to others. Please be advised that even for the most knowledgeable and keen it can take several years to become a driver.
Where the locomotive department provides the train with an engine, the traffic department provides the train and means for it to run. All operating staff fall into this section which is headed by a full time traffic manager and run by a wide range of volunteers from television presenters to tax inspectors. The department is graded, with the more senior positions requiring competent persons to have experience and undergone appropriate training and examination. Along with locomotive crews, the safety of our visitors is safeguarded by professional volunteer guards, signalmen and other operating staff.
Duties within the department can be split as follows:
Platform Staff (at all stations along the line)
Each station has an appointed volunteer Station Master who oversees all staffing issues. New volunteers are asked to start as a trainee porter in order to learn about the operation of the railway and following an initial probationary period are normally passed out as a porter and issued with a uniform. After this they may progress as experience and ability allows to Platform Inspector and Duty Station Master. The duties of platform staff may seem glamorous but can be summarised as;
Again previous operational experience will help you to progress through the grades more quickly, as will commitment and ability. You are not forced to do a turn, you decide, all we ask is that you do come once you have committed yourself.
Booking Clerk
At the 'out stations' (i.e. not Loughborough) there is also the grade of booking clerk - responsible for the selling of tickets and providing information to customers. Should you be interested in becoming a booking clerk at Loughborough - please see the Commercial Department notes.
Travelling Ticket Inspector
A travelling ticket inspector (or TTI) has a responsible position in as far as they are very often the first contact our visitors have with a member of railway staff. Whilst they may have already purchased tickets at the booking office, the
pressure of a queue behind, rushing to catch the train and the inconvenience of the ticket window mean that conversations at this stage are normally restricted to 'two returns please!' The TTI however has time to talk to our visitors ensuring they get the most from their day out and assist them in anyway they can. They also play the important role of protecting revenue, firstly by clipping tickets to ensure they cannot be reused, and secondly by charging visitors without tickets. You should be confident with dealing with the public and be able to handle money. Good mental arithmetic always helps! A visitor's whole perception of the railway is often gained from their meeting with the TTI.
Although they form part of the traffic department rostered by the Loughborough's Station Master, the need to oversee the taking of money means that they are the responsibility Loughborough's booking office manager. Operational experience will be needed before you can become a TTI.
If you have no previous railway experience then you are advised to start as a trainee porter on one of our stations. This enables you to gain knowledge and then chose which direction you may wish to pursue.
Signalman
Once you have suitable experience you may wish to join a Signalmans' training course or a Guards' training course. Signalmen work at either Loughborough or Rothley signal boxes (a signalman is required at each in order to run a train service). The training course ensures that you are fully conversant with all the rules and regulations you will be required to follow along with the working of the boxes. After completing a sufficient number of turns and passing an examination you will be able to volunteer as a signalman.
Guard
Guards have responsibility for the safety of the train. Again you will be required to complete a training course along with a set number of turns and be expected to undertake an examination. A guard's day normally starts well before the departure of the first train with the checking of the stock and the cleaning of the interiors. As well as the safety element guards may on occasions be required to clip tickets and collect fares, although usually there is a rostered ticket inspector. You will also be responsible for the shunting of carriages / wagons and will need to be prepared to 'go under' and couple up carriages - whatever the weather!
This department covers a wide range of duties and offers the chance for volunteers to become involved in the running of the railway without having to be associated with the operating side. This makes it ideal for the more 'mature' volunteer, indeed many retired folk help out here although all are welcome.
The hub of the department is Loughborough Booking Office where all the railway's activities are planned from. There is no set grading system as such, but it is more of a case of finding a job to suit the person. Ways in which your help will be most welcome are;
Booking Office administration - talking to prospective customers either in person at the window or over the telephone - be they dining, footplate experience or general enquiries. Patience is a good attribute to have - many of our callers never having heard of us before!
Booking Clerks are always needed for whenever we are running trains, predominantly selling tickets, but also as the first point of contact for our visitors ensuring they are fully aware of what they can do, or what ticket they need etc. As you will be handling money, you will need to competent and be able to deal with the general public.
Footplate Experience hosting is a rewarding job that we are always in need of someone for. This involves meeting groups who have paid to drive one of our steam locomotives and giving them a brief introduction to the railway and their day. After showing them a short video you will host them at various times during the day ensuring they are at the right place at the right time, whether that be the loco shed for a tour round, the signal box or on the footplate of the engine they are driving. Speaking from experience this is a very rewarding job, particularly when you have done it several times and become accustomed to the 'patter'. Trainees usually thoroughly enjoy themselves and hearty handshakes and glowing letters of praise normally follow.
Special Projects covers all the oddities such as filming contracts and commercial ventures. Suitably experienced persons are frequently required to negotiate and oversee contracts that could be anything from providing a location for a major feature film, to testing a new inspection trolley.
Tour guides enable visiting parties to gain much more form their visit to the Great Central Railway. This can be done to suit your own style, but obviously a knowledge of the railway and how it works are needed or else it could be a very short tour!
In all the above cases full training will be given.
This department of the railway looks after the trackbed, its ballast and the track upon it. Their activities can be split into two areas; the maintenance of our existing trackwork, and new works.
Under maintenance the following duties are undertaken;
The regular maintenance gang are all volunteers who meet at weekends.
Under new works, as part of the railway's capital on going schemes a full time team carry out track laying on such projects as Loughborough remodelling, double tracking and new siding provision. Most of this work is undertaken during the week.
The work is physical and outdoors, with work being carried out in all weathers. Volunteers are welcome in their team, depending on whether you are available during the week or at weekends.
With so much development taking place on the railway the S&T department always seem to be in the throes of a major scheme. To date some of their more notable achievements are the rebuilding of Loughborough signal box, the installation of all signalling equipment at Rothley including the erection of Blind Lane signal box from Wembley and the installation of a new gantry at Loughborough for the re modelling.
Again there is regular maintenance to be carried out with such duties as;
However the main thrust of the department is at present resignalling Quorn to make the most of the double track. This work sees anything from erecting signals to pulling cables to jointing and testing. A team of volunteers meet regularly at weekends and carry out work on such major projects. Additionally 'work weeks' are also organised in order to blitz projects during possessions of the railway.
This is a rewarding and varied job for which volunteers are always welcome. Some elements of the department's work is physical. Most of the work is undertaken outdoors.
The carriage and wagon department is based at Rothley. Most of the fleet of operational carriages are maintained during the week. However the more historic vehicles, and the wagons are restored and maintained by volunteers, mostly on Saturdays.
Most of the historic carriages are owned by the Railway Vehicle Preservation Group, or come under the control of the London and North Eastern Train Association. The majority of work is aimed at creating a rake of Gresley Teak carriages. Formerly derelict carriages are restored at Rothley. The restoration work includes:
In addition the RVP group maintains previously restored carriages. These at present include the Travelling Post Office train (which the group also operates at special events), a buffet car and a number of parcels vans. Maintenance can include:
Also based at Rothley carriage and wagon shed are the 'Windcutter' group who are responsible for the restoration and maintenance of the rake of 16 ton mineral wagons which were purchased with the assistance of the readers of Steam Railway magazine. The type of work undertaken ranges from cutting out and replacing large sections of bodywork to running repairs and painting.
The Great Central Railway is renowned for its catering and operates a first class restaurant car service on selected trains and a griddle car service on others. The first class restaurant trains operate on Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes (The Silver Jubilee), Wednesday evenings (The Master Cutler) and Saturday evenings (The Charnwood Forester). All food is cooked on the train by our full time chef and served by a mixture of full-time, agency and volunteer waiting staff. Help is also always welcome when it comes to washing up and clearing down!
Prospective volunteers should bear in mind that this train is a prestigious dining car service offering a high quality service. Persons wishing to volunteer in a position where they will be in direct contact with customers (i.e. stewards) should be smart and articulate and be prepared to cater for the needs of the more 'upmarket' visitor. Persons wishing to help behind the scenes will of course be issued with company marigolds. You should also bear in mind that if volunteering for an evening train you will finish at around 11.30 - midnight.
Alternatively you may wish to volunteer to work on the Griddle Car which is provided on most service trains during the course of the day. This serves food such as all day breakfasts and light refreshments. Duties on board include serving at the bar, stewarding and cooking.
The railway houses several 'stationary' eating outlets.
At Quorn and Woodhouse a refreshment room has been very cleverly installed in the old tunnel room under the station bridge and this acts as a NAAFI and air raid shelter, the station being restored to its 1940's guise. At Rothley the refreshment room is located in the more traditional surroundings of a room on the station and is popular throughout the year. At Leicester North a buffet is located with the booking office.
Loughborough Central has an extensively stocked shop containing items from souvenirs, videos, books and 'Thomas' merchandise. Additionally at Loughborough there is the 'Emporium', affectionately known as Len's Shop after the late Len Barnes who religiously ran the emporium every weekend for many years. This stocks a large collection of second hand books and magazines and some smaller items of railwayana.
Although the line was originally built to a very high standard, 100 years of use, (and a few years of disuse) have had their effect. This small volunteer team work at weekends keeping regular maintenance going such as repointing, replacing defective brickwork and stripping and painting metalwork.
Recently extended the museum at Loughborough continues to house more and more interesting articles. Most recently placed on display are the fascinating original plans of the construction of the Great Central Railway. Items are rotated so there is normally a need for a keen athletic person to scale the walls and attach exhibits from an unusual angles. Other bits and pieces include labelling, archiving and sourcing new exhibits.
And last but by no means least, the railway's Special Events always needs help in marshalling and stewarding the railways programme of special weekends. Events which need assistance are; 'Days Out With Thomas,' railwayana swapmeets, and when Swithland Yard is opened during galas etc.
The railway is keen to encourage volunteers. However, a few restrictions have to be applied, many for safety reasons:
In addition, volunteers in "safety critical" positions need to pass a medical examination.
