A Younger Generation of Volunteers at Didcot Railway Centre

IT is certainly true that we couldn’t run Didcot Railway Centre without our volunteers.

Their skills range right across the spectrum, so you don't need to be a skilled engineer or knowledgeable about railways, and all help is warmly welcomed.

It may be true that in the process of restoring our steam locomotives we need to call on experts in some of the more challenging aspects of mechanics and steam boilers.

Many of our experts have had years of experience in this work but many of them are not getting any younger and time has come to pass on skills to a younger generation.

Up to a few years ago the word apprentice was frowned upon and being an "engineer" could be seen as a secondary occupation.

Throw in railways and especially the word "steam" and you were viewed as being some kind of alien.

But times are changing and railways are viewed in a different light, and Network Rail has a very active apprentice scheme.

Even the steam railway movement now has apprentices learning about steam boilers and steam locomotive restoration. But it is not just steam locomotives that need this young blood: all aspects of railway preservation need young volunteers to keep alive the railway preservation world.

At Didcot we have rejuvenated our young volunteer group and we now have an active 11-16 group who undertake many tasks at the centre.

We meet once a month and our aim is to give younger volunteers the ability to get involved in railway preservation in a safe and controlled manner.

During their time with us we hope to show the opportunities that we can offer, with the idea that once they reach 16 they can start to identify which railway centre roles they may want to develop.

Many of our operational roles allow a 16-year-old to start training so that by the time they reach 18 they can be "passed out" and become firemen, guards or signalmen, but there is also the engineering route and training on large machinery is an option.

So our aim is to train our young group to be our next generation and keep alive the skills of the experts and, of course, make sure they enjoy their volunteering.

So if you know of a boy or girl who may be interested in this type of opportunity then please do contact us at the railway centre (01235 817200) or email info@didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk