IN all my years of visiting organisations, I have found one can quickly sense an atmosphere. Yes, there will always be the odd person who is clearly not having a good day, but people tend not to laugh and joke together unless they are happy. It is clear that the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) is a welcoming, friendly place.
Camaraderie is not in short supply – and a healthy demographic mix can be found across the railway in terms of age and gender. That friendly sense of community appears to have been in place since the heritage line’s earliest days (see separate panels).
The GWSR operates with just a small core of around a dozen paid staff. At Toddington, the home of the railway’s locomotive depot, smart, spacious facilities provide a welcome, comfortable environment for volunteers – even including a rooftop terrace with picnic benches to admire arriving and departing trains. Modern, covered facilities are in place for steam and diesel locos, too.
Also impressive are the carriage and wagon workshops at Winchcombe, which ensure the fleet of BR Mk.1 carriages are maintained in top condition, while the finely restored goods vehicles are no strangers to The RM’s Heritage Wagons column. Facilities include a trim shop where carriage seats are refurbished.
At the opposite end of the line, work is ongoing at the tourist honeypot of Broadway. All signals and the signalbox are in place, but the signalling is not signed off yet – it is now expected
