Volunteering with the Weardale Railway

If you have ever visited or contacted the Weardale Railway then chances are, you will have been helped by one of our volunteers – simply put we couldn’t exist without them!
Volunteering for Weardale Railway is a great way to get involved with your local community, make new friends and learn new skills (which could even help you find work or develop a new career). Whatever your age, whether you’re male or female, if you have a couple of hours to spare or can make a more regular commitment, we need your help. Our normal age range is from 11 – 70 (but there is no upper age limit). We now have a Junior Club with members of school age who will be able help under supervision.

So what can I do?
We always have regular and one-off projects that we need help with, so whether you are working, at home, studying or looking to develop your career or skills, volunteering with Weardale Railway is a fantastic way to spend your time.

Ticket sales
Book-keepers
Guards and ticket inspectors
Promotion and marketing
Administration
Station maintenance
Café
Gardening and planting
Drivers

Crossing keepers
Controllers
Painting and plumbing
Track maintenance
Depot maintenance
Track patrollers
Gift Shop
Organising events

And the benefits…
Great company, a friendly working environment, free travel on the railway and a quarterly newsletter.

Interested?
Potential volunteers must first become a member of the Weardale Railway Trust in order to provide protection under the Trust's insurance. Once this has been done new members can apply to become a volunteer.

In September of this year we held our first open day at Stanhope Station for potential volunteers to come and have a look at the railway, enjoy a free train ride and a guided tour of our depot. Being the first event that I have managed I was a little unsure of what to expect; hoping that people would turn up was my biggest concern! Current volunteers were on hand at the station ready to answer any questions posed by the potential volunteers and luckily the first batch of guests turned up. Around twenty people completed application forms on the day and another seven registered an interest. All boarding the l4:l5hrs service from Stanhope we were off to the depot. On arrival the party of guests were split into two groups; one lead by myself and the other by our Managing Director Steve Raine. Plenty of questions were asked and hopefully all answered, after the tour it was time to re-board the train for the return journey to Stanhope where guests enjoyed a free barbeque and were given the opportunity to chat amongst themselves about the day.

One thing I will hold my hands up for, was not having a debrief session which would have given the guests a chance to ask the current volunteers further questions. But as I said this was my first event and I can only promise the next will be better, which hopefully should be held in early 2008. All in all I believe the day was a success with plenty of enquiry forms for me to work through (more than I thought!). I would like to personally thank all of the staff who volunteered their time on the day, without them it would not have been possible.

(Junior club)

A new addition to our family of volunteers is the introduction of the Weardale Railway Junior Club (WRjc).

The WRjc is open to young people between the ages of 11 and 16 and offers classroom training and hands on experience in a number of fields, at the moment the curriculum is being finalised along with health and safety procedures so please watch this space as further information will be posted when we are fully up and running.
Applications to join the Junior Club are now being accepted. Applicants must first become members of the Weardale Railway Trust by submitting a Trust membership form here then a volunteer application form here should be submitted.

Just a last note from me, can I first thank you for taking your time to read this page, if you know of anyone who is interested in volunteering on the Weardale Railway please let me know or if you have any questions please feel free to contact me, I am very approachable and always happy to help.