A RAILWAY charity in North Yorkshire has launched a major volunteer recruitment campaign to fill hundreds of varied roles across the organisation.

A registered charity, the North York Moors Railway requires between 300-500 hours of volunteer support every day to bring its story to life.

As well as working on the locomotive footplate, volunteers are needed in the NYMR’s Infrastructure and Motive Power departments, to assist with the full breadth of civil engineering, building, electrical and mechanical work - not to mention the maintenance, repairs and overhaul of its fleet of steam and diesel locomotives.

York Press:

Marcus Aldrich, head of volunteer development for the NYMR, said: "Volunteers are the lifeblood of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, it’s a challenging but hugely rewarding opportunity - with the offer of experiences that money just can’t buy. 

"You don’t need to be a train enthusiast or know all the lingo, and we’d love a whole cross section of people to apply. We’re particularly eager to recruit more female volunteers across every department."

Other volunteer roles include travelling ticket inspectors, signalling and telecommunications, customer service, retail, catering, fundraising and education.

Phil Akester, steam and diesel driver at the NYMR, has been a volunteer for over 13 years. 

He said: “I’ve been at NYMR since I was 11 years old – I’m now 24. It’s my life – I live and breathe it, even the bad days are good. I’d pay to do it if I had to. It gives me an immense feeling of enjoyment, pride and gratitude to drive, and be responsible for, our steam locomotives, the trains and our passengers.”

To get on board today and apply to be a volunteer, visit: Nymr.co.uk/volunteer