January has been a significant time for the young people at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR). The previous Leaders, Mike and Richard, retired at the end of 2018, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them both for the work they have done in the past. For a while the Railway board was uncertain if new leaders could be found in time, but then, near the end of 2018, a glistening light appeared in the form of Helen and was quickly joined by David, both of whom have different experiences with young people, and they agreed to take on the youth group.
It was a busy end of the year to get things ready for the young people. The decision was made to rename the group "OnTrack". The group also had a cabin that needed looking at. The first thing the new leaders wanted to set up was an induction, to ensure the members were aware of the changes, and to ensure they knew the risks and responsibilities associated with working on and around a live railway. So all of the existing members were invited to an induction covering these points. The parents were also invited to a meeting at the end of the day to meet the new leaders, to get a brief overview of some of the changes, and also to have the opportunity to voice any concerns they may have had. The turnout to the induction days was fantastic and really has provided the new leaders with the confidence that their work will pay off.
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| The Cabin From The Outside |
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| Looking Through the Door. Some Tidying Needed. |
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| Looking Down The cabin. |
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| And Looking Back the Other Way. (Here you can see some of the damage to the floor covering) |
The first job, however, before we could do any railway stuff, was to make the cabin fit for use. The floor covering needs replacing, so on the second meeting the old floor covering was removed, the boards were removed from the walls and the furniture was put into tempory storage. This enabled us to see if there were any holes in the walls and if there was any major damage to the wooden underflooring. It seems as though all will be fine. The next jobs on this are to put in new floor covering and possibly to paint the walls to make it lighter in there. It is hoped that the cabin will be ready for use soon, but due to the evidence of some damp, we are waiting for the maintenance team to just have a quick look and see if there is any major damage.
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| Flooring Gone and Walls Washed. |
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| Looking Back the Other Way. |
So, looking forward:
We hope to be learning a lot more about railways, their safety and operation, the various types of traction and development of locos, rules and procedures, and to have a lot of fun doing so.
