THE LAKESIDE RAILWAY SOCIETY

Are you searching for something more fulfilling to do? Membership of the Lakeside Railway Society and the Furness Railway Trust still costs just £12 per year, and is your ticket to a rewarding new hobby keeping steam alive!

As the organisation that provides the volunteer labour for the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, members are our lifeblood, and there is always room for more! Membership of the Lakeside Railway Society stands at between 300 and 400.

And we are always on the lookout for the member who also wants to give us some of their time as a volunteer!

There are opportunities across the board. Our core activity is providing crews for the intensive summer train service. Training is given to all new recruits. You won't be made to feel unwelcome and you won't be expected to know everything from the word go.

Unlike many other heritage railways, the L&HR does not operate a departmental system, so you won't find yourself stuck only allowed to perform one type of task, and you won't find yourself waiting behind a lengthy queue of people before you are ever allowed to do anything. As soon as your membership application is processed, you are more than welcome to work on our railway. And if you fancy training to be a Guard or as Footplate Crew, then the Rostering Officer will slot you into the Roster that governs our duties. You could be on the footplate within weeks!

All you need to do is to join the Lakeside Railway Society to get started.

You need not be an engineer or a professional railwayman to work on the L&HR. There are already dentists, civil servants, accountants, journalists, butchers, housewives, doctors, lawyers, lorry drivers, electricians, and more, who enjoy undertaking various operational and maintenance duties.

We encourage junior members to belong to our Society. However, they are advised that up to the age of 14 they must be accompanied at all times on the premises by a parent or adult guardian.

A number of retired members meet regularly at Haverthwaite on Wednesdays and would welcome additions to their numbers. Carriages, signals, track and telephone systems also need constant attention.