Trainees on Board
An essential part of the project is helping the heritage sector in Wales by recruiting recent graduates to help deliver the project and gain essential first-job experience. The first two ‘Trainees’ are Millie Rathbone, from Newport, South Wales, who has joined the Interpretation Team, and James Kindberg, from Glasgow, who will work with Edwina Bell in overall management of the project. They have both relocated here to be part of the project and we know you will welcome them when you meet them.
Interpretation
The Interpretation part of the Project is going well. The team of volunteers have almost completed the 41 research notes that will inform the writing of the stories which will be told on the interpretation panels that will be installed at main stations and halts between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Caernarfon for the 2024 season. It has been a fascinating chance for the researchers to delve into bits of the railway history they have always wanted to know more about.
Stories relating to the WHR have included contributions from Dave Russell on the several efforts in the 19th and 20th centuries to reach Beddgelert from the south, and John Jones has researched ‘the bridge to nowhere,’ a historical artefact of the Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway. Also thanks to Dafydd Thomas for his many tales of the Black Hand Gang.
More faces
Recruitment is also in progress for two positions that are very important to both the project and the railway as a whole.
The Work Placement Officer will be responsible for outreach to find more potential volunteers and those who may benefit from placement opportunities on the railway. The new successful applicant will build on the work of Krys Madoc-Jones who worked in this role before leaving the railway over the summer due to personal reasons.
The Training and Events Supervisor will ensure we transfer knowledge and skills to volunteers, with a special focus on engineering tasks at Boston Lodge and Dinas. They will assess competencies and create programmes of work – including learning opportunities – to make best use of volunteer effort.
It is hoped both positions will be filled very shortly.
Tender progress: Small Loco Shed and Boston Lodge Main Contract
The tenders for the new capital construction have come in and have been evaluated by the Project Team. As was expected in the current climate, they are significantly higher than was budgeted for and discussions are underway about the best way to manage this…watch this space…