Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association - Volunteering

Volunteering

In its time the Supporters' Association has undertaken many supportive projects on the railway, from the basic painting and maintenance of level crossing gates (which were controversially replaced with automated barriers in 2001) to more menial matters such as the general tidying up of stations along the line, at one time their input ranged all the way up to providing volunteer operational staff such as station masters and train guards each summer during the 1970s. However, by 1978 when the railway was nationalised the role of the group decreased somewhat with volunteer-based workers causing difficulties within a government-run organisation.

An ambitious attempt to fully restore a steam locomotive (No.9 Douglas, built by Beyer Peacock at their Gorton Foundry in 1896 and withdrawn from traffic in 1953) was aborted and so after much deliberation of other major projects (and having used some the intended funds to re-tube No. 11 Maitland in 1981) in 1982 the association began the ambitious restoration project of the Groudle Glen Railway which, since that time has been re-opened in its entirety and now operates at weekends and certain evenings in the summer months. The railway is owned entirely by the Supporters' Association and operated by volunteer labour. Since this time all the volunteer labour provided by the members of the group is concentrated on the railway at Groudle Glen and activities connected to the Isle of Man Railway have been predominantly fund-raising and/or provision of parts, see below.

A more enlightened relationship with the management in recent times has seen something of a return to voluntary input, notably the cleaning and maintenance of the signal box at Douglas Station which has been opened to the public as part of annual transport festivals since 2010, the group have also provided voluntary chaperones to escort members of the public around the railways workshop facilities during these periods. It is hoped to expand upon these activities in the future.