You may have a particular skill you feel you can offer the railway; you may wish to learn a new skill or take on a particular project. What ever your interest in the railway, you will soon find the right job to suit you.
One aspect of the railway which is very important is that volunteers are permitted to give as much or as little of their time to the railway as they wish. Time is a precious commodity these days and this is a fact that is very much respected by the volunteer staff. Of course there is nothing stopping an individual from spending every moment of her (or his) spare time on the line if she or he wishes.
Another aspect which is essential is that everyone is permitted to work at their own speed. Slowly but surely the job is completed, which produces good end results and allows the work to be completed safely. Occasionally, staff from all departments are called upon to help with a larger project which is beyond the scope of an individual. Many hands make light work!
Before you can become a working volunteer on the Line, you need to be a member of the Northampton & Lamport Railway Preservation Society. This not only provides you with the benefits of membership but also covers you for insurance purposes. If you are under 16, you will have to be supervised by an older volunteer to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act.
There are several departments within the society, each department upon the other makes the railway run. The obvious departments within any railway include Carriage & Wagon, Motive Power, Permanent Way (Civil Engineering) and Signalling and Telegraph. However, no railway could succeed with out the support of staff providing Catering, Fund Raising, Publicity etc. If you are not sure where your area of interest lies, it may be a good idea for you to work in a different department each week until you have tried them all. This will also give you the opportunity of getting to know the other volunteers.
Most of the work involves the laying and maintenance of track, or restoring and maintaining our fleet of steam and diesel locomotives, rolling stock and signalling equipment. There are also the customer facing jobs such as working in the station gift shop, buffet or booking office and on train jobs such as ticket collector, guard or locomotive crew.
Many volunteers already have skills which are very useful to the railway. You may have a skill from your work or hobby which could be of great use. For example, you may be a professional carpenter - on the railway this might mean you would enjoy working on carriage restoration. Another example is electrical work. This covers a vast field including wiring low voltage lighting on rolling stock, ignition control circuitry on diesel locomotives, wiring for Signal & Telegraph, and 240 volt mains installations.
No special skill are needed as appropriate training will be given as required. You may find that you have a talent for something that you never even thought about.
The railway is open to the public on Sundays and Bank Holidays throughout the year and these are the most active days for volunteers. Some also come along on Saturdays, others pop in for a couple of hours in Sunday afternoon and some turn up only if the sun is shining. It's up to you. Volunteers who become involved with the running of trains will need some commitment to satisfy any rotas which may be drawn up.
Membership forms can be obtained from the booking office. Membership benefits are listed here.
Copyright © Northampton & Lamport Railway 1996-2006
