The four main ways in which you can help are:

1. Become a Volunteer

Bowes Railway welcomes volunteers who wish to participate in restoration and maintenance and/or railway operation. New volunteers with specific interests may opt to join the appropriate Department and participate in its work programme. Alternatively, they may be happy to help with general work to be allocated by the Site Manager when they attend the site. The Site Manager is employed by the Railway to carry out the day to day running of the site, maintenance of the site and the locomotives and rolling stock and track. He allocates jobs to volunteers based not only on their interests but also their ability.

All work programmes are approved in advance by the Board of Directors. No volunteer work is undertaken on site unless the Site Manager is present. In some cases (eg boilers, power tools, machines), work may only be undertaken if the individual is qualified. Training may be arranged where required.

The site is normally open Monday to Friday 0900 -1600. Please note that these times are not binding, as it is not possible to guarantee that the Site Manager will always be available. If you are not a regular attendee, you are advised to telephone the site beforehand (0191 4161847) if at all possible.

All volunteer workers must report to the Site Manager. If you are interested in a particular type of work (e.g. electrical, engineering, plumbing, exhibition - to name but a few!), the Site Manager will direct you to a person responsible for that area. We also encourage volunteers to take responsibility for specific tasks, eg cleaning and refurbishing workshop machinery.

Perhaps the best way to find out what interests you (and also what you might be especially good at) is to visit the site and talk to as many volunteers as you wish. You might also like to come to an operating day during the season to observe the system working and see if you can picture yourself helping out with any of the work going on.

In addition to restoration and maintenance, volunteers operate Bowes Railway on operating days. Volunteers can choose to help out on operating days only, on non operating days, or both but we do encourage the operating volunteers to get involved in the maintenance of the track, locos and rolling stock. The site is open to the public throughout the year during the week and at weekends by appointment, but operating days are normally confined to the summer season. See our Open Days section for further details.

Trained volunteers are in short supply for rope haulage, and there are vacancies in all operating departments. There is also a shortage of people to undertake work with the Commercial section. This can involve any of the following:

• Guided Tours
• Manning Exhibition Areas and Workshop Displays
• Shop
• Refreshments
• Tickets
• Education
• Publicity, etc.

2. Become a Member

• Company. The Company is anxious that all volunteers should have a voice in the policy and running of the Company. In order to achieve this, all volunteers are required to become members after a 6 month probationary period.
• In addition to the Company Members' Annual General Meeting, where Directors are elected and votes taken on policy matters, there are site meetings for Members and volunteers to voice their opinions.
• The Annual Membership Subscription for an Ordinary Member is £10.

3. Donation

We are always pleased to receive donations, whether financial or otherwise. As a Registered Charity (No.511961) we are grateful to a number of organisations who have in the past donated equipment, transport, sleepers, display material, manpower, webspace, refreshments etc.

Visit the Thank You page for some of the organisations and individuals concerned.

4. Come and Visit the Bowes Railway

An easy and enjoyable way to help is to just come and visit us. Why not bring friends and family? Enjoy yourself - if you're happy, that gives us a real boost, and we'll be happy too!