Volunteers Welcome!

Whatever area you are interested in by joining us and helping to run the railway, you will be a part of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway community. As well as the opportunity to meet and make new friends you will enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that you have played a part in the L&B's success.

Whatever your age or background; if you already have a skill or have a particular work area in mind, or if you are looking to do something new and different we want to hear from you.

Our volunteers are the lifeblood of the railway - Come and join us!

Volunteers can undertake either rostered or non-rostered duties

Rostered Duties

Tea Room Staff: Are you a whiz with a teapot? Can you butter bread to the corners and slice tomatoes with style? Or maybe you prefer to take food orders, wash up and chat to visitors.  With the railway steaming off at great speed we are in need of more volunteers to help run the Tea Rooms at Woody Bay Station. As we are open seven days a week in high season we always need lots of people.

We are a small, friendly and supportive team who would welcome similar minded people to help us make this the best year ever. So any spare time you might have could help us out, make sure the tea rooms are always staffed and that we can provide a vital service for our passengers as the income from the Tea Room contributes to the funds required to get this railway to its next objective Blackmoor..

Please call us on 01598 763487 for an informal chat and more information, email me or drop in when we are open.

Loco Crew

As we run trains we will always need engine drivers, firemen and guards and we are always looking for suitable candidates. 

If you have always wanted to drive or fire a steam loco, now is you chance - all training  is provided FREE!

Front of House

Train Operation - This work involves train guards (who are responsible for the safety of trains and dealing with passengers), checking tickets etc

Shop/Booking Office - This is the main commercial front to the railway and of course our main source of income, so is very important to us. Skills required or that you can learn include shelf-stocking, money handling, offering general advice and dealing with ticket sales. We also occasionally need people to help represent the railway on sales and publicity stands and selected events around the country.

Non-rostered areas of Work

Here is a selection of possible areas of work on the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway this is definitely not an exhaustive list and you do not have to restrict yourself to any singular job or function.

Engineering, Maintenance & Marketing

Machine tool skills - Skilled and willing volunteers are required to help throughout the year with ongoing maintenance and construction. There is a wide variety of skills needed including carriage maintenance, welding, fabricating, painting, routine repair, maintenance and refurbishment, electrical skills, specialist draftsman and more.

Joinery and carpentry - We often require specialists in this field to help with the repair and restoration work being carried out around the station and on rolling stock. Such opportunities also exist within some local area groups where small rolling stock and other projects have been taken on.

Painting - This can cover everything from sign writing, to interior decoration and vehicle repaints. We always need skilled painters to help with lettering work and interior paint finishes. Other opportunities also exist for those who want to get dirty and help apply protective paint to rolling stock underframes and external surfaces.

Electrical - This can cover everything from changing a light bulb through to Installation of new lighting, maintenance of existing systems, or rewiring of outdated systems.

Civil engineering and track maintenance - Civil Engineering and permanent way is another major area of work on the railway and is what provides us with a safe track on which we can run our trains. Existing track requires maintenance and there are often small jobs like ballast packing on the existing line. We also have quite a significant number of miles of additional new railway to build in future years! - this requires design work, construction, machine operation, management track laying.

Signals and telecommunications - Long term projects currently in progress including the setting up of electronic token systems, full interlocking of points and signalling, railway telephone communications, and radio communications. We have a number of experienced specialists already helping, but their time remains limited. The more people who can volunteer to help, who possess skills in these areas, the quicker we can implement these projects. All the existing S&T then also needs ongoing maintenance.

Gardening - This is a job that almost anyone can usually help out with! There is a lot of grass that needs cutting regularly throughout the season. We also have to maintain fences, trim hedges and look after flowerbeds in order to keep the station's appearance up to a high standard.

Marketing -  Encouraging people to visit the railway is done through our leaflets and other materials. We are also regularly featured in the local and national press and have a constantly evolving website. We have a small team of leafleteers - why not join them.

If you find that the hotel/guesthouse you stay in doesn't have our leaflets, why not make sure they do!

So are you interested?

Please do get in contact and let us know what you'd be interested in doing by downloading and printing the Volunteer leaflet. Fill in the details and send it, or hand it in, to the station!

Firstly you will need to come to a short induction session, so you can get clued-up on all the bits you need to know before doing any work on the railway. As part of this we will need a completed Volunteer Registration Form and, for volunteers under 16, parents will need to sign and return to us a Parental Consent Form.

Don't forget to also check out our handy hints & tips!

There is something suitable for almost anyone, whatever your level of skill and however long you are able to help the L&B.  Several of our volunteers arrive knowing very little or even nothing about railways or trains - but very soon they are as immersed in the project as those who have been here for years.