Help us get the Ida Bay Train back on track!
The volunteer, community-based not-for-profit Ida Bay Railway Preservation Society Inc has put a proposal to the Tasmanian government to restore and run the heritage-listed Ida Bay Railway.
Revenue from all activities will be fed back into the operation and conservation of the railway, so the participation of volunteers is vital.
We need all sorts of people on board to get the railway back on track and keep it running. Whether you are into hands-on work, paperwork, working with people or sitting behind a screen, we’ll find a job for you.
Volunteering can be a highly rewarding way to get involved with your community, meet others with similar or different interests, learn new skills, or build your resume and improve your job prospects. And best of all, you will be contributing to preserving a special part of our heritage and improving the economic prospects of the region.
Here are some of the things you could choose to help us with:
Manual restoration work:
- Checking the gauge (distance between the rails)
- Fixing track spikes (large ‘nails’ that pin the track to the sleepers)
- Tightening fishplates (joiners bolted between lengths of rail)
- Replacing sleepers and packing them in a bed of ballast
- Trimming vegetation and clearing drains
- Checking, repairing and maintaining ‘rolling stock’ (carriages and locomotives)
- Repairing, restoring and maintaining buildings at the historic site
- Undertaking specific restoration projects
Administration, management and communications:
- Recording restoration work in a Safety Management System
- Financial management and accounting
- Procurement and store management
- Recording and assessing the condition of buildings on the site, preparing a priority works programme for their care and considering their future role within the railway’s renovation
- Training and managing volunteers
- Fundraising
- Promotion and marketing
- Communications, community engagement and public relations
- Researching history, gathering stories, recording and conserving artefacts and sites
- Representing the railway at public meetings and events across the state
- Facilitating educational activities
Operation (once the train is up and running):
- Train driving
- Train conducting
- Customer reception and service
- Tour guiding
- Hospitality services (café / accommodation / camping)
- Managing and maintaining water storage and reticulation, sewage, power, communications, waste, stores, fire protection, security and safety
- Mowing lawns, tending footpaths, fencing, weeding, maintaining seats and signs
If any of this interests you, or if you have another idea for how you or your business could contribute, please get in touch.
Download the full information document.
