Thanks to the efforts of volunteers at the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways, Hunslet 2-4-0STT Linda has just emerged from Boston Lodge works following a complete repaint by a volunteer painting crew in the Paint Shop.

Linda will now be prepared for winter, then join the railways’ other locomotives at Boston Lodge shed ready for the start of this year’s operating season.

The photographs show what a great job the Volunteers did with repainting Linda, but volunteering on the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways is not just waiting to repaint a locomotive.

There are a host of other volunteering opportunities available, all of which provide great comradeship and satisfaction in seeing a job well done.

Although it’s winter, it doesn’t mean it’s the off-season with a quiet and restful period of relaxation. On the contrary, it’s quite the opposite as now is the start of the extensive Winter Works programme where Staff and Volunteers work side by side on a range of tasks such as:

• Lineside Clearance to get rid of lineside growth in the fence lines, which if it becomes established in fences and walls can cause damage and also rapidly block views from the trains.
• Carriage Painting & Woodworking.
• Locomotive Restoration.
• Gardening.
• There is even a “Black Hand Gang” which is effectively a jack of all trades, carrying out track laying, track maintenance, building and repairing fences, hanging gates; rebuilding level crossings;; replacing and maintaining signage, as well as helping the Buildings Department and the Signals & Telecoms Department.

If anyone would like to volunteer with the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland a very warm welcome awaits. There is plenty of information about the activities planned for this year on the website at www.festrail.co.uk/volunteering.