Epping Ongar Railway volunteering

The Railway will celebrate its 10-year operating anniversary in 2022 and we are keen to recruit more volunteers to help operate our trains.

All volunteers are welcome at Epping Ongar Railway and no role is beyond their reach or aspiration, although certain safety critical positions, for example, train driver, signaller or station master, require the passing of specialist training and meeting medical standards.

There are so many jobs that volunteers undertake. Not all of them are obvious and some may go unnoticed, but they are all essential for the safe and smooth running of the Railway and creating an amazing customer experience.

As well as drivers, firemen, guards, maintenance teams and signallers there are a multitude of roles such as, porter, booking clerk, ticket inspector, and train steward. There are also the bus crews, plus the catering team, shop and stall teams. All of these people will be visible on running days. However, that is only part of the picture as so much equally essential work is done behind the scenes and on non-running days, which includes, but is not limited to:

• restoring, maintaining and cleaning the heritage rolling stock, station buildings, and gardens

• ensuring that the track is in good order and managing the vegetation and environmental ecosystems along the line

• stock taking and replenishing the merchandise at the catering outlets and shops

• dealing with customer ticketing and general enquiries electronically and by telephone

• preparing trains and tables for dining and other special events and cleaning up afterwards

Adult membership is just £20 per year and that includes 4 copies of our 44-page magazine Mixed Traffic. If you have a few hours to spare, please contact: membership@eorailway.co.uk Further information is also available on our website: www.eorailway.co.uk/membership/

By Mandy Hewlett Railway Volunteer.

The Music Den at Hemnall Social Club

After having to cancel events from March 2020 due to lockdown, The Music Den had its first event on 18th May this year with Mike Hatchard. This was followed by The Fran McGillivray Band on 8th June, The Heaters on 13th July and on 24th August Saints and Sinners, featuring The Spikedrivers, Fran McGillivray and Mike Burke.

The whole point of the Music Den is to bring a varied mixture of live music to Epping.

Events are held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at Hemnall Social Club, 50 Hemnall Street, Epping, CM16 4LS.

The next scheduled events for this year are as follows:

9th November The Heaters

12th April 2022 The Jigantics

14th December Bad Influence

For more details, please see Hemnall Social Club’s website. Facebook: The Music Den Epping, Hemnall Social Club

Tickets: wegottickets or direct from Hemnall Social Club

Contact: Dennis Timbers, Mobile 07768811706, email: dennistimbers@msn.com