Volunteers are the life-blood of preserved steam railways, and the Bala Lake Railway is no different.

Volunteers supplement the permanent staff, enabling more effective work to be done. A regular volunteer work force allows major tasks to be more readily undertaken including locomotive rebuilds, carriage building & premises development.

Within a day you could be selling tickets in the booking office, maintaining the track, helping with the maintenance of engines and carriages or learning to fire the steam engines.

It doesn't matter whether you have a day, a week or a lifetime to devote to the Bala Lake Railway, we have jobs that will make you your visit is worthwhile and your investment beneficial.

Working volunteers at the Bala Lake Railway get:

• Tea, coffee & lunch provided, cold drinks if required
• Access to showers & lockers for working clothes
• Hostel or Caravan for overnight accommodation
• Protective goggles & gloves provided

All you need to provide is yourself, suitable overalls and safety boots or shoes and you can join us in this satisfying and rewarding hobby.

You may know exactly what you hope to do when you visit the railway, especially if you have existing skills. However, if you are looking for a chance to do something quite new we will be pleased to help you choose.

Being a small organisation, many of our volunteers aremulti-skilled, allowing them to find a better fit to the tasks to be completed on any given day.

All positions are open to male or female persons (regardless of title) - we have a number of female drivers,firemen and signalmen!!

Volunteers offer their time throughout the year - mush of the heavy locomotive engineering, trackwork and eco-management can only be carried out when the passenger services are not operating.

We have all types of job: to suit every type of person, of all ages (min. 16 for insurance purposes), not all the jobs are out doors although volunteers should be able to cope with the ever changing Welsh weather!

Contact Roger Hine (the railway manager and engineer) today to arrange your volunteering "turn" and if needed, arrange to stay in the volunteers accommodation.

To volunteer on the Bala Lake Railway you do not have to be a member of the Bala Lake railway Society but we would hope that you might wish to join us and help the Society to continue to aid the railway.

Read more about what the Society does for the railway