Retired, or just want a new leisure interest? Why not get in touch now? You won't regret it! Give us a little of your spare time, meet and make new friends, enjoy yourself and learn new skills whilst helping us run the Mid-Norfolk Railway.

 

We are always looking for interested people who can spare some time. There are a wide range of volunteering opportunities available, covering virtually every aspect of the railway’s activities. Whilst some roles require a significant time commitment and training, others do not. If you want to get your hands dirty, there are plenty of opportunities, but if manual work is not for you, there is also a wide range of other choices. Volunteering presents you with the opportunity to meet new people, from all walks of life, gain worthwhile skills and results in a real sense of achievement. 

 

Volunteers are needed for: 

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• Selling tickets in our booking offices in Dereham and Wymondham

• Organising and running a variety of events over the year

• Helping passengers onto and off the trains at platforms

• Working with our Operations team - signallers, drivers, secondmen, firemen, guards, ticket inspectors, crossing keepers, shunters and cleaners

• Catering in our Dereham & County School tea rooms, on our buffet cars for lunch, afternoon or cream tea and dinner trains

• Signalling maintenance and development

• Working with our shop, refreshment and museum teams

• Keeping our stations and coaches clean and tidy

• Looking after and restoring our heritage rolling stock

• Restoring and maintaining the stations and gardens

• Skilled work: such as welders, builders, plumbers, electricians, carpenters 

• Keeping the track and structures maintained

• Managing the vegetation and environmental ecosystems along our beautiful line

• Maintaining drains, bridges and structures

• Maintaining our steam and diesel locomotives and multiple units
   

 

With the huge variety of tasks, our railway can often be likened to a ‘small town’ … and everyone is welcome and no matter how you choose to help, everyone plays an important part in ensuring the railway can operate trains and our visitors enjoy their visit. Please do not feel apprehensive … we all started from scratch! 

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Personal qualities required/preferred: Volunteers can be under the public gaze, so personal appearance is important. As well as having significant safety responsibilities, you must also have good communications and personal skills, both for dealing with colleagues and the general public.

 

Training of volunteers: Training is available for all of these jobs, with some jobs with a few hours training and others in operations with months required. In order to become a volunteer, you need to become a member of The Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust. This means that, when you are working as a volunteer, you are covered by the railway's insurance. Details of becoming a member, current rates and renewal of membership can be found by here.

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The railway is now developing at an amazing rate. We won the 'Ian Allen Publishing Heritage Railway of the Year' in 2013 and this means so much to the volunteers. We are determined to continue to move forward and be the best, and we are proud to do things a bit different sometimes too. And we want YOU to be part of that vision!

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 Are you interested? 

 

Please get in touch with our Volunteer Co-ordinator through volunteer@mnr.org.uk or alternatively come along to Dereham or Wymondham Abbey or County School stations when we're open and talk to one of our volunteers who will be able to help you understand the steps involved.

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