The Ffestiniog Railway and crossing the new bypass

[Earl1]

Well ideally that's what I'd do, except that in my experience anyone under 18 isn't allowed to do anything more ambitious than coach cleaning on preserved railways.

W&LLR example.

Average teenage volunteer will start cleaning engines/coaches or become an assistant guard 14+. At 16 they can train as a guard or as a Fireman. At 18 they can train to be a diesel driver. at 21 they can, if they show promise become a trainee driver. They could also be a trainee stationmaster/controller by then.

To be honest I started at age 4 helping my dad, passing tools etc, and have gone on from there, things have changed a bit in 14 years though.

[trainmad]

I'm currently training to be Guard at Butterley, and I'm 17.

Anyway, last time I went to Wales, Ffestiniog was one of the few railways I didn't go on, as I've been on it before and we didn't have the time anyway.

I've been on the WHR (P) before and enjoyed that... mainly because of that cabride on Russell. However, yes it is a friendly line, and thats noticable.

The only real problem I have with WHR (C) is the price. Thankfully my HRA pass knocked the price down to something reasonable.
I guess the price is ok for a family day out, but for a Railway Enthusiast visiting Welsh Railways it can get quite expensive.

Mind you, it's still cheeper than Snowdon Mountain Railway (without HRA pass use at Snowdon anyway.)

[BruceB]

The only real problem I have with WHR (C) is the price. Thankfully my HRA pass knocked the price down to something reasonable.
I guess the price is ok for a family day out, but for a Railway Enthusiast visiting Welsh Railways it can get quite expensive.

Give me a bell next time Paul, as an FRS member I take take you as a guest for about £5-8. In fact it would be worth getting one of my boxes on my membership card crossed off! Everyone I've travelled with this year have also been FRS/WHRS members!!

Bruce

[trainmad]

HRA pass knocked it down to about that. Will give you a bell all the same!

[Frsimplex1993]

Hi,
Like Tim i try to be friendly to people who arrive at Boston Lodge while i'm there. And they have all said they've enjoyed there time at Boston Lodge. I think customer relation is inportant as that is what makes a Railway good. But sometimes H&S gets in the way and you HAVE to operate a railway properly. When i catch the train home from school people start asking me questions about the area and i answer in a happy way, i hope that contributes to the 'feel' they get from the railway, i'm glad to help people on the train as it makes me feel like people have had a good time and at the end of the day that is what's inportant. As people will then carry word of the Railway good which brings more publicity to the area and that matters to me because its the area i live in. If you meet me next time you come Murray i'll bring my guide book and teach you the line.
William

[MuzTrem]

W&LLR example.

Average teenage volunteer will start cleaning engines/coaches or become an assistant guard 14+. At 16 they can train as a guard or as a Fireman. At 18 they can train to be a diesel driver. at 21 they can, if they show promise become a trainee driver. They could also be a trainee stationmaster/controller by then.

To be honest I started at age 4 helping my dad, passing tools etc, and have gone on from there, things have changed a bit in 14 years though.

Well it seems that the WLLR has less fussy insurers. At the RLR you have to be 9 years old to join, but can only do small tasks like leaf/litter clearing, coach cleaning and ticket clipping. At 14 you're allowed to do slightly more ambitous work, such as helping on the track and selling tickets. But it's not until 18 that you can go anywhere near the engines-I think you have to be 21 just to be a diesel driver. Of course, it's inevitable that age restrictions will vary between lines, but H&S rules are becoming ever tighter and I think railways will have increasing problems in future finding interesting work for younger members.

If you meet me next time you come Murray i'll bring my guide book and teach you the line.

Thanks, but I'm afraid it may be some time before I can even get to North Wales!

[andrewtoplis]

Certainly on the national network you have to be 21 to be a driver. I think that is the law because as the driver the public are YOUR responsibility.

I thought most railways (certainly the 2 I have worked on) let people join the loco at 16, some even younger on certain jobs. Railways may indeed soon have problems finding younger people jobs. Do you think though that working at a railway requires a certain amount of commitment, free time, money and hard work, so naturally attracts more adults than young people? I think that the majority of people who work on preserved railways will have joined as adults, maybe over 25 rather than 16.

Andy

ps dont let that dishearten anyone!

[MuzTrem]

It's certainly true that the vast majority of preserved railway volunteers are adults, but I think there are a lot of young people who would have the necessary qualities-after all, those who play football or other sports outside school require similar values. But it is harder to attract youngsters as there is no nostalgia element for them, and many that might have taken an interest are put off by our hobbiy's "uncool" status. It's all very well proposing a new line or building a new engine, but who's going to look after it in 50 years time? IMHO the lack of young volunteers is the greatest problem facing the preservation movement-and we need to tackle it head-on before it's too late.

[rwaceyw]

Well ideally that's what I'd do, except that in my experience anyone under 18 isn't allowed to do anything more ambitious than coach cleaning on preserved railways. And my local line dosn't even use signals! (The trains are controlled by radio.)

Be prepared to travel a bit to a line that caters for you. I'm 18, but am ( was? ) a passed cleaner at the ELR, and have been in the loco department since 16. A few others here have mentioned they've started young.....

David

[Earl1]

I grew up going to the W&L, the father-son system has worked well, though it gets harder with every year of HSE regulations

[andrewtoplis]

It's certainly true that the vast majority of preserved railway volunteers are adults, but I think there are a lot of young people who would have the necessary qualities-after all, those who play football or other sports outside school require similar values. But it is harder to attract youngsters as there is no nostalgia element for them, and many that might have taken an interest are put off by our hobbiy's "uncool" status.

I agree with that Murray. I started at 15 1/2 and was laughed at in school for it.

It's all very well proposing a new line or building a new engine, but who's going to look after it in 50 years time? IMHO the lack of young volunteers is the greatest problem facing the preservation movement-and we need to tackle it head-on before it's too late.

I am not saying dont try to attract younger people, but I do believe that it is something that people will come into later in life. People with no railway connection at all join lines all the time in search of a new experience, just as people take up sports or other hobbys. I believe that footplate work is hard and dirty, and probably wont ever be all that popular with teenagers! To my mind it is something that interests slightly older people more. The majority of people I know in the railway community are too young to remember steam, but have visited, have been encouraged and decided to give it a try because it is something new and different. This initial encouragement is the most important thing to me.

Andy

[andrewtoplis]

PS railways are relatively few and far between, depending on where you live. My nearest line is at least 90 minutes drive away, to work there i would need to be up before 5am. Its a big commitment, which for me means being away from my young family. Footplate work is not something that can be done with a free two hours after school, unfortunately. Thats why I say that it appeals more to adults who have their own transport, funds and spare time etc.

For what its worth, ever increasing Health and Safety regs are the biggest problem facing railways IMHO.

[davidaward]

Well ideally that's what I'd do, except that in my experience anyone under 18 isn't allowed to do anything more ambitious than coach cleaning on preserved railways.

At SVR, you can join the MPD at 14 as long as you are supervised, at 16 you can work on your own. At 18 you can go on the firing course once you've served your time as cleaner, and you can go into other safety critical roles at 18.[/quote]

[trainlover123]

And soon I'm off to be a GCR cleaner.

[Frsimplex1993]

I grew up going to the W&L, the father-son system has worked well, though it gets harder with every year of HSE regulations

Same here with the Ffestiniog realy i'll be able to clean properly by my 16th b'day which means i can after a few days pass as a cleaner, and work my way up to a fireman another 2 years after that i may be passed ! I hate the way they've moved all the ages up!