East Lancashire honours long-serving volunteers
THE East Lancashire Railway has honoured its most dedicated volunteers for clocking up a total of more than 2000 years of service in making the heritage line one of the finest in the UK.
Its inaugural long service awards ceremony at Bury Transport Museum on October 20 saw 58 staff and volunteers presented with plaques for contributing to the railway for more than 50 years.
The four longest-serving volunteers received gold awards – Lois Veevers Hatton and Peter Lord for 52 years, and Richard Law and Phil Bailey for 51 years – for rescuing the railway from disappearing, so future generations could enjoy it as living history.
Ten volunteers received silver awards for more than four decades of service, while the remainder received bronze awards for three decades of dedication.
ELR chairman Mike Kelly said: “Our volunteers have been and continue to be the absolute lifeblood of the heritage railway.
“Put simply, without them, we could not function, so it's only right that we step out to salute their incredible selfless and unwavering service.
“With the help of our super staff and volunteers, the railway has been able to bounce back and continues providing magical moments. But not everyone has returned from our pre-pandemic teams and we aren't quite up to full strength. We desperately need more people to join our fantastic teams.”
The ELR currently has more than 700 volunteers in roles that include working in ticket offices, restoring locomotives and carriages, and greeting families. Visit www. eastlancsrailway.org.uk/support-us/ volunteer-with-us