What make a good society into a great one?

Ok let’s see if we can keep this one on track. What I want to know is four things.

1) What make your railway heritage group so good for you?

2) How many times a year, do you get to it?

3) What do you like about your railway group and what do you get out of it?

4) What one aspect of your railway would you like to see at every other railway?

That should be enough to get it going. Oh yes and please no saying my group is better that yours or having a slagging match as it will get this thread terminated.

Thank you

 

I'm a member of only 2 societys, the M&GN society and the Mid Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust.
Both give good discounts, the M&GN 75% travel (exc SE) and some in shop. MNR give 50% travel 5% in shop
Both have good journels, althought Joint line in exceptional. Great mix of news, pictures and historical articles.
I get to the NNR 4-5 times a year, MNR 4-5 times a year.
Other Railways
I like the fact that MNR is 100% voluenteer and the great enthusiasm about, even though it is mostly diesel.
I think the M&GN society have a really good education streak through them, and a very good talent for extracting lottery money (although I'm not sure if the NNR plc or the society apply for the grants)

 

Those are very good questions. I hope we'll get some decent answers.

Here are my thoughts:

1) Nice people, relaxed atmosphere.
2) 15 to 20 times a year. Not enough in my opinion but there are limiting factors.
3) See 1). I get fun out of it but also satisfaction when things are achieved.
4) The relaxed atmosphere for volunteers.

Regards

Christoph

 

Fellow members of the heritage group don't nick the avatars of other members on an internet forum !!!!

Chris

 

Sorry Chris I must have missed the fact you where using it, but I did ask the trust and no one said no, and as a sign of respect I have now removed it

Colin

 

Thank you Pete for moving this thread, I notice it has been read by a larger community

 

I volunteer because I like driving (for me, railway volunteering is leisure, charity is giving to life-saving causes such as Oxfam), and consider it fair that in return I am asked to also do my share of the more boring work.

When choosing a line, I look for one that is accepting new loco crew (I don't blame the ones that don't because they are already full, as I understand there is such a thing as too many people chasing too few turns, I just choose to go somewhere less popular instead), and that is easy to get to, which usually means nearby.

I usually volunteer twice a week, and usually split this time fairly equally between 2 lines, partly for variety (Heaton Park Tramway were chosen precisely because they were different), and partly because it can be hard to tell which line will suit me best without trying it (when I lived in Oxford, one of the two didn't work out, as they had unusually stiff points that I hence could not shift reliably).

 

1) People: likeminded 'enthusiasts' all working towards a common aim (eeee I should have gone into politics )
2) Not enough: two railways of which I'm a member are too far away and accommodation is a problem, a third is closer but not attractive for me on the working front while I get up to the 4th about 50 days a year besides holding down the day job.
3) People and a variety of work. I do notice that many railways, especially the longer established ones, tend to pigeonhole volunteers into departments: I presently do a load of different activities ranging from operating to fettling to trackwork so rarely get bored (or any spare time!). Better still the sense of achievement when you finally fix that ##@!!~@ fault which has been nagging you or at last get that lump of rusty iron working as it should be!
4) A welcoming atmosphere. My first serious visit to a preserved railway some 25 years ago was met by surly staff and crew who hardly answered any questions, whereas my second visit to another the next day was completely the opposite. Guess which one I joined?

 

I think we'd all agree being with other folk with the same/similar interest. Helping to preserve/restore/operate said equipment [even if only as an "armchair" member supplying that most important piece of paper that has the phrase "I promise to pay the bearer on demand....£s ]. Seeing the travelling public use whatever it is. As a member of the LNER Coach Association based on the NYMR I on occasion will do some "tin rattling" [fund raising] at the one or other of the Galas and meeting the public. Quite often they'll ask such things as; Where do you get these coaches; How much do they cost to buy/restore; Where/How do you get the parts and such like. Apparently when the LNERCA Teak set arrives folk have asked does it cost extra to travel on these coaches as they're so different to the run of the mill MK 1 that quite a lot of lines use/run and are quite surprised when they're told no just the same as with the MK1....

 

1) What make your railway heritage group so good for you? - Originally because it was a Southern region line/atmosphere themed line. I wasn't then too interested in anything that wasn't south of the Thames or in period 1948 to 1967. As a friend of my once said you don't like railways, you like a railway.. now I have a greater appriecation of all things Southern

2) How many times a year, do you get to it? - I live out of the UK now and haven't been home since 1995, so never in person anymore but throught the wonders of the internet I see more of the general UK railway scene than ever before.

3) What do you like about your railway group and what do you get out of it? - A common goal, a desire to offer others something that I am interested in and have worked to make fit for purpose. So for example may years ago my now wife spent a whole weekend in June stripping, derusting, painting and generally tidying up the down starter at Medstead & Four Marks station. The pleasure we got from seeing this post and fittings transformed was fantastic and then the following weeks the people, both volunteers and public looks and comments were icing on the cake!

4) What one aspect of your railway would you like to see at every other railway? - The removal of poltics and the merger of effort of groups/people etc in the greater common cause. For example the BR standards owners group seem to have made many common casting patterns etc and seem to assist each other in the common interest.

 

I like to think I just like a Railway, the others are interesting, but none of it really strikes enthusiasm or passion for me.

The Ffestiniog Railway

1) The People & the Atmosphere - Not everyone is a trainspotter here, some people are just interested in being there for the social atmosphere, the banter and the gossip.
2) I like to go atleast once a week, even if that's just Friday night spent with other staff in the pub
3) Because the paid staff look after the core fleet, the volunteers are able to maintain more 'pointless projects' such as the slate train and locos like 'Palmerston'
4) The reduction in dependancy on volunteers, it proves that it wouldn't completly collapse if there was a lack of them

 

Lets think about this, so is a bloody stupid thread! Let's stop here....

Every society or whatever is out there to try and achieve something! Some may achieve their goal, some may not, but it's, "great", that they've tried!

That's all I have to say, as for the rest, I don't care for waffle!

 

I think its more of an effort to see what makes some societies more popular then others...but whatever 83D