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Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by gwralatea, Jan 7, 2022.

  1. gwralatea

    gwralatea Member

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    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Just sent my forms off to start volunteering again after a 20 year gap, and for the first time as an adult.

    Week 1, day 1, what do you wish you'd known?
     
  2. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Well done for volunteering! It is a great feeling to know that, almost, whatever you do will make a difference. There are so many different people who volunteer and they all have their strengths and weaknesses as you get to know them. It is generally best, I find, to listen - a Lot, when first starting........enjoy - and let us know how (edited!!) you get on if you can.
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2022
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  3. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Occupation:
    Gentleman of leisure, nowadays
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    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Is mounting people allowed, these days? :)
     
    48624, 5944, Wenlock and 1 other person like this.
  4. Belgarath001

    Belgarath001 New Member

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    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    I've only been down a literal handful of times now as a cleaner so not much knowledge to draw on, but the first piece of advice given to me (that was immediately validated), was to invest in waterproof safety boots. So that when you're shovelling ash out of the pits and the sump hasn't been cleared you don't get sodden feet!
     
  5. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Occupation:
    Gentleman of leisure, nowadays
    Location:
    Near Leeds
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Some unwritten rules are:
    1) never be separated from your food,
    2) never go near railway with clothes you wouldn't be happy to throw away,
    3) never expect to do what you expect to do.
    4) never expect to finish when you expect to finish.
     
  6. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    Occupation:
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    If someone says [project X] will be finished in Y months time, double Y to get the true answer….
     
  7. 61624

    61624 Part of the furniture

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    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    It's always good to come across an optimist!
     
  8. Johnb

    Johnb Nat Pres stalwart

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    Retired, best job I've ever had
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    Yes I am an active volunteer
    You forgot to say never arrive first if you know the smokebox or firebox needs cleaning out. If you get either job wear something on your head or you will be washing soot out of your hair forever.
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2022
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  9. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Treat every day like a learning opportunity - eyes, ears and mind open, mouth mainly shut.

    Tom
     
  10. Johnb

    Johnb Nat Pres stalwart

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    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    I’ll go along with that, the acronym I learnt many years ago was WALL; watch, ask, listen and learn.
     
    Bluenosejohn, ghost, Romsey and 2 others like this.
  11. M59137

    M59137 Well-Known Member

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    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    That the feel of a railway completely changes from department to department, and in many cases a department can change from day to day. It's all about the people.

    My advise to new starters is always: that if you don't "get on" with the feel or the people after a while, either try a different department or volunteer on a different day (if you can) which may have a different gang of colleagues.

    If you're not lucky enough to settle first time, don't give up on the railway or volunteering until you've tried a few different combinations.

    Sent from my moto g(8) power using Tapatalk
     
  12. toplight

    toplight Well-Known Member

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    Location:
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    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    I would say the biggest thing is to decide fairly quickly what you want to work on and then stick at that and get skilled up in that area. I see the odd volunteer turn up, wander around a bit and they don't seem to have any clear idea of why they are there and what they are trying to achieve, I think some just want to chat and look around a bit.

    If you are doing a restoration, be prepared to spend your cash and get the proper tools needed for the job.
     
    Bluenosejohn and Wenlock like this.
  13. mdewell

    mdewell Well-Known Member Friend

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    Occupation:
    UK & Ireland Heritage Railways Webmaster
    Location:
    Ruabon, Wrexham
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    That not everything we were doing at Didcot in the early 1980's would continue forever. I took far too much for granted, including: the GWS Vintage Train running on the mainline, the Broad Gauge project (track and Firefly loco), the large crowds on special event days (There were times as a shunter trying to move trains through the yard when we could hardly move at all :eek:), no worries about coal supplies, the 'old boys' who knew everything and were quite happy to share (Night school after the pubs closed most weekend evenings :)).
    So. . . Enjoy your time on the railway and try not to take anything for granted.
     

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