Jobs at West Coast Railways?

[Bittern]

I didn't know where to put this, but isnce WCR is officialy a TOc, I thought here would be best.

Just wondering if this is volunteer run or what? I'm asking because I would like to be on the footplate of a steam loco at some point travelling on the NR network (my dream is to be powering an A4 on a run from London Kings Cross - Edinburgh Waverley ) at some point in my life.

Thanks.

 

[E&W Lucas]

I didn't know where to put this, but isnce WCR is officialy a TOc, I thought here would be best.

Just wondering if this is volunteer run or what? I'm asking because I would like to be on the footplate of a steam loco at some point travelling on the NR network (my dream is to be powering an A4 on a run from London Kings Cross - Edinburgh Waverley ) at some point in my life.

Thanks.

West Coast are very much a TOC. Definitely not a volunteer outfit. Most of their drivers are retired main line men; if not, they are run of the mill TOC drivers moonlighting on rest days.

Plenty of their work is out of the public eye, eg conducting On Track Machines.

There is no way of becoming a mainline driver, without going through the full training process at a TOC. Stem wise, they go for blokes with substantial prior experience.

Fireman is a slightly different matter, as some of WC's have been recruited from the heritage sector, mostly the NYMR (though again, some are ex BR 1960's). Again, this is not an easy route. Getting yourself noticed by grafting on mainline support crews may also have been required.