Andrew

Andrew - Fireman, Shunter, Signalman and Clerk

I have been fascinated with railways for as long as I can remember. I think my parents recognised the spark early on and whether they meant to or not, they fanned the flames of railway enthusiasm by taking me to several Days Out with Thomas at Didcot Railway Centre. For many youngsters, the interest in trains born out of seeing the real Thomas the Tank Engine is something they outgrow, but there are a number that will retain this interest for the rest of their lives. As one of the latter, I continued to enjoy visiting heritage railways, well beyond the ‘Thomas’ stage. I developed a fondness for the Great Western Railway and so I particularly enjoyed visiting Didcot, as I was able to get up close to what is surely the world’s best collection of GWR locomotives. During those visits I became increasingly aware of the role volunteers played in keeping the UK’s rich railway heritage alive. Having marvelled at the jobs that volunteers got to do, I decided at the age of 12, that I too wanted to be involved. My mum contacted Didcot Railway Centre and about a month later, I attended my first young volunteers working party.

Fast forward 10 years; I have been involved to varying degrees in almost every department, I am fully qualified as a Fireman, Shunter, Signalman (amongst other things) and undertake some clerical work. Given that I have now been a volunteer at Didcot for a large proportion of my life and have been involved in so many projects, I think it is fair to say that I thoroughly enjoy volunteering and find it incredibly rewarding. It has also furnished me with a wealth of practical and soft skills, helped me forge strong friendships, kept me physically active and inspired me to seek a career in engineering. I have no doubt that if I were 12 years old again, I would make the decision to become a volunteer in a heartbeat. If you are interested in learning new things, meeting people, having a good time or you simply want to get up close to living, breathing history, volunteering at Didcot Railway Centre may just be your cup of tea, why not give it a try?

The first step to becoming a volunteer is to join the Great Western Society - the Charity that runs Didcot Railway Centre.

We need volunteers to carry out all types of tasks - see the opportunities across our departments here.

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