The ambitious and exciting Interpretation and Boston Lodge project has enabled us to tell the story of the railway and so help thousands of visitors understand the area’s pioneering spirit and global impact and explain how the industry has shaped the landscape and community over 200 years…
This has included new physical interpretation at stations and at Boston Lodge, top ten stories and explainer training for customer facing staff and volunteers who are the railways greatest assets in helping visitors engage, training guides for the new Boston Lodge tours and a new FFWHR Explore app to help visitors find out more.
The work at Boston Lodge has enabled us to allow people to see behind the scenes, and get involved if they wish. The hope was that this would further invigorate the involvement of volunteers, in the oldest continuously operating railway engineering works in the world...
Tours started in 2024 and have been well received from the beginning and are being developed further. We have been very pleased to welcome new volunteers who became interested through tours or workshops.
The project enabled us to involve more people in the railway and help those people develop their skills…
This has included the popular “How Steam Locomotives Work” and a wide range of “Have a go” workshops covering welding, lathing, painting, signwriting and hot riveting alongside one to one training on workshop machinery.
The project also restored five historic buildings at Boston Lodge bringing them back into use as well as creating three new buildings…
This has provided much improved facilities for volunteers and staff in terms of washrooms, mess facilities and locker space. It has provided a research & training room (the first time Boston Lodge has had a meeting space) which is already proving invaluable. There is refurbished and new storage space, new office space and a new server room and new visitor toilet facilities. Number 1 and 2 (Barracks) have also been restored provide two small flats in No1 and a new control office in No2 and operations office. In recreating the historic waggon repair shed against the cliff we have both an area for orienting tour groups (and sheltering them from the rain) as well as much needed storage space.
