Volunteers Weekend and Locals Day

posted by keith vingoe on Tue, 27/03/2012 - 13:02

This weekend was a very busy one indeed at Woody Bay Station - as well as elsewhere - as it was the weekend when we look to recruit new volunteers, have a working weekend for the regular volunteers and for the first time ran a Locals Day promotion.

We received several enquiries regarding volunteering on the railway and these are to be followed up. Meanwhile those that arrived for the volunteer working weekend spent Friday fettling trackwork at Woody Bay, Saturday clearing the old Blackmoor Hotel site and returned to Chelfham on Sunday.

Our first "Locals Day" was a great success and by the end of the day we had carried over 550 passengers with significant takings in the Shop. The Tea Rooms all but sold out - again with significant takings. The distribution and origin of visitors was quite interesting and Members will be able to read more of this in the L&BR Trust Members area of this website. In the meantime here are some photos to give a flavour of the day.

Driver Will Curry supervises uncoupling whilst Guard Patrick Faithfull assists the disembarking Passengers.

A beautiful sunny day - Peter Williams couples Sid up to the very full train.

L&B Member Sheila Smith came from down from Tewksbury to assist Judy Williams over the weekend and is seen here serving teas and cakes in the temporary tent erected especially for the weekend. Other volunteers working in the Tea Rooms this weekend were Irene Cross, Mark Jeffery and Gail Farmer.

Driver Will Curry takes a well earned break as he watches Driver John Uphill taking Sid "up the line" to Killington Lane with another packed train. The Guard was Steve Ball.

Working in the shop over the weekend were Philip Shelton, Ron Eddy and Tony Cross. Dave Tooke, Dave Blencowe and Judy Williams were also on site as were Chris Carder, Tim Gibbs, Martyn Budd, Peter Miles, Jim Pounds, Jim Price and Frank Daff - and that's just the ones we know about so far!