MEMBERSHIP

Membership of the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway Company costs £12 per year for adults and £6 per year for associate members (second member at same address). Junior members (under 18) become members of the supporting Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway Society.

Each member receives a copy of our regular magazine "Top Line" (published three times a year) and "Bottom Line" (our newsheet, published six times a year) and full Company members receive six free rides a year on the passenger service.  Membership is essential if you are interested in becoming a working volunteer on the Railway as this gives you full insurance cover in case of any accidents.  We tend to ignore train rides made by regular working volunteers - especially if the buy tea on the train!

The Railway is managed and operated exclusively by volunteers who are all members of either the railway company or railway society

Volunteers on the Railway are split broadly into the following categories:

During 2008 and for the next two or three years, there will be a significant increase in infrastructure as the southward extension to Blaenavon (High Level) continues.  For that purpose a ‘development team’ has been formed with the sole remit of managing the push southwards, which is to be completed by April 2010  Not only that but there is much preparatory work to do connected with the construction of a branch line round to Big Pit and work on this will be starting during 2009.  If you have experience in the construction – or even if you haven’t - you’d be very welcome to join this team.

We are a small railway, and it doesn’t take long if you are committed and have a bit of savvy to get invited onto the Management Team or even to the Company board.

You are warned not to show any interest in matters administrative or organisational, nor of management, otherwise you risk been swallowed up by the railway, never to be seen again!

Operations
This is the department involved in the actual operation of the passenger services at Blaenavon on running days.  You can learn to fire and drive the Steam Locomotives, drive Diesel Locomotives, become a Guard, help in the on-train Buffet or, perhaps most importantly off all, sell tickets.  Training is given both in the classroom and ‘on-the-job’, usually by our more experienced members and you could soon be helping operate services on the railway.

 

 

 

Loco 'Karel', a Polish TkH 'Ferrum', with us during 1999, makes a stirring sight as it blasts up the bank from Furnace Sidings to the Whistle Inn

 Permanent Way
This department looks after the maintenance of the railway track on the current operating section of the railway, it is also responsible for the upgrading of the proposed extension to passenger standards and the laying of new trackwork. Come along and see us, "Track Bashing" can be fun and rewarding, especially if you look good in dayglow orange clothing.

 

 

Looking South we see a permanent way gang, trying to look busy. To the left the 'deviation' climbs into the yard, whilst the main line goes south, steepening to a fearful 1 in 22 as it passes under the only standard gauge rail-over-rail bridge in preservation.  This is an image from a few years back – the crossing in the foreground has now been completely rebuilt

Locomotive Department
This department looks after the maintenance of the Steam and Diesel Locomotives on the railway, as well as the engines and underbody equipment on Diesel Multiple Units.  Tasks range from routine maintenance tasks such as oil changes etc. to major rebuilds and restoration. The department is currently engaged on a number of restoration initiatives, and is finding it hard to find sufficient bodies to do the work. So why not get some oil on your hands and come along and help us.

Carriage & Wagon Department
The railway has a large and varied collection of rolling stock looked after by this department. The coaching fleet is made up mainly of ex-BR Mark 1 carriages although ther are a few old GWR coaches on site being restored. There are also a large number of wagons also in various states of restoration. One of the major tasks in this department is painting, so if your a dab hand with a paint brush come along we've plenty of paint.

 

 

In the top shed one of our experienced coach restorers touches up some newly applied lining to Brake Second Composite M25444

Civil Engineering Department
Nothing makes a railway more like a railway than its buildings and structures. This is the "bricks and mortar" and "nuts and bolts" department of the railway and is always overloaded. If you're a bit of a "handy Andy" we would very much like to meet you.. This is a very small team, and with so little infrastructure, there are many building challenges ahead. If you’ve got some 'oomph' in you, you could be a big fish in a small pond very quickly.  We’ve just finished installing sewerage and water supplies, and with the top shed ripe for extension, huts to bring back into use, etc., this department has more work than it can handle.

Development team
You’ll have to battle to get onto this select team, and be a committed to working the majority of weekends.  This is the team that is actually building the railway.  With the extension down to Blaenavon progressing well, it is very likely that this seven man team will be looking for recruits, since at present it is fully loaded building the platform at Blaneavon (High Level), reconstructing the ‘Hinckley’ footbridge, getting water to gurgle through long blocked drains and ditches once again.and relaying the 1.25 miles of track needed to reach Blaenavon (High Level) by Spring 2010.

How To Join
Company Membership is offered only to persons of 18 and over. In the event of the Company being wound up, members may be liable to contribute not more than £10 in order to meet any debt of the Company. To make this agreement binding, it is necessary for the signature on an application to be witnessed.  It doesn’t matter who the witness is provided they are not a very close relative.  Please do not send in application forms that are not witnessed for Company membership – we cannot process them further if you do.  Members of the Company have free membership of the supporting Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway Society.

Young persons under 18, senior citizens, foreign nationals or others not wishing to become Company members may join the Society, in which case no witness to the application is required, however applicants who are under eighteen must have their parents approve the application, and the applicant must add their date of birth.  Additional parental approval will be needed for young members who additionally wish to undertake activities on the railway.

We stress that Company membership is the recommended route for adults to get involved with the railway, and affords them the greatest range of privileges and opportunities.

Annual subscriptions:
Adult Company or Adult Society membership.................................£12.00
Associate (second member at the same address)...........................£6.00
Society membership for young people under 18 ............................£6.00

Both Company and Society members are insured to, and may work on site subject to Company rules. Company members receive six free train rides a year. All members, other than associates, receive our magazine 'Top Line'.

Membership forms are available in the form of a  PDF file. Click HERE to see and print an application form.

To open the PDF you will need an Acrobat Reader by Adobe.  If you don't already have one installed on your PC already, you can download a copy free of charge direct from Adobe by clicking      HERE.

If all else fails contact us by phone or email and well happily post one to your home address

Updated 10 April 08

Updated 3 July 08

Updated 20 Dec 08