Operations

Our Operations department manages everything to do with the running of our heritage steam service. In terms of volunteer numbers it is the largest on the railway, and it always welcomes new volunteers interested in the ins and outs of keeping a busy steam railway on the move.

Department Roles: Footplate (Cleaner / Fireman / Driver), Guard, Signaller, Porter

Available Days: Monday – Sunday when trains are running

Passenger Services, Retail & Catering

From selling and checking tickets, serving in the shop, running our dining trains to providing that all important cup of tea and slice of cake, our passenger services team welcome all of our customers with a smile.

Department Roles: Booking Office, Travelling Ticket Inspector (TTI), Catering Assistant, Dining Train Assistant

Available Days: Monday – Sunday when trains are running. Shop operates year-round.

Museums

Our two museums, one based on the cattle dock at Corfe Castle station and the Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum as Norden, both showcase the railway and industrial heritage of the area. The museums offer volunteers the chance to interact with the public as well as working with large collections of artefacts and a recreation of the mines of the past.

Department Roles: Booking Office, Travelling Ticket Inspector (TTI), Catering Assistant, Dining Train Assistant

Available Days: Monday – Sunday when trains are running. Shop operates year-round.

Estates

It’s no easy task keeping our five stations looking their best but our Estates team do a wonderful job of maintaining the listed buildings of Corfe Castle and Swanage stations as well as our newer stations at Harmans Cross, Herston Halt and Norden. The team look after the fences. buildings and gardens across the railway  and would welcome any new volunteer interested in DIY or gardening.

Department Roles: Estate Volunteer / Gardener

Available Days: Monday – Friday (teams generally meet on fixed days of the week)

Permanent Way

There would be no railway without its tracks and our Permanent Way team work round the year to keep the rails, sleepers and points in top condition. They carry out a weekly line walk, maintain the lineside vegetation and wildlife habitat and carry out major works to keep everybody on the railway safe.

Department Roles: Permanent Way Volunteer

Available Days: Monday – Friday

Loco, Carriage & Wagons

It takes a small army of both permanent staff and volunteers to keep our locos and rolling stock in the best condition. Our heritage coach and wagon restoration teams work to bring 1920s and 1930s carriage back to life and we have volunteers at our Herston Works helping with the restoration of our historic steam engines. We have a small fleet of heritage cranes based at Norden, looked after by our crane group – a vital and frequently overlooked part of our maintenance effort.

Department Roles: Carriage Restoration or Loco restoration volunteer

Available Days: Carriage & Wagon Restoration teams meet on Saturday, Sunday or Tuesday. Herston Works teams meet Tuesday – Thursday

Signals & Telegraph / Telecoms

It takes a small army of both permanent staff and volunteers to keep our locos and rolling stock in the best condition. Our heritage coach and wagon restoration teams work to bring 1920s and 1930s carriage back to life and we have volunteers at our Herston Works helping with the restoration of our historic steam engines. We have a small fleet of heritage cranes based at Norden, looked after by our crane group – a vital and frequently overlooked part of our maintenance effort.

Department Roles: S&T Technician / Telecoms Technician

Available Days: Teams meet most weekdays, Telecoms meet on Thursday

Lineside

We at the Swanage Railway are lucky enough to be taking care of a largely undisturbed wildlife corridor that’s nearly 9 miles long! It is home to many insects, mammals, birds and reptiles and we take our role as custodian of the lineside very seriously and aim to keep it in a condition to allow its residents to flourish. Our lineside team work closely with Permanent Way to keep the vegetation alongside our tracks safe for the running of trains but also in the best shape for natural life. We have trained ecologists on the team, and are always looking for nature enthusiasts to help out.

Sygnets

Many of our volunteers simply can’t wait to get started, so to help them get involved with the railway from a young age we set up our youth group, the Sygnets which takes our future volunteers from age 13. Meeting at weekends on a monthly basis they are able to participate in organised, safe activities around the railway which aims to be not only fun but also provides much-needed experience in the rail industry.