Fancott Miniature Railway needs volunteers

Fancott Miniature Railway needs volunteers to help run the railway, or the UK's '˜last miniature railway at a pub' will have to close.
The Fancott Miniature Railway at The Fancott ArmsThe Fancott Miniature Railway at The Fancott Arms
The Fancott Miniature Railway at The Fancott Arms

The miniature railway, which opened in 1975, at the Fancott Arms pub near Toddington covers 1.2km in an oval in the gardens of the pub and rides cost £2.

Ron Stanbridge, 65, from the Fancott Miniature Railway Society, wants people to come down and help, with many of the current volunteers near retirement age.

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He said: “The biggest problem is that I have retired and can only help when my back allows me to, the other members are looking to retire as well. If we don’t get people in to help, we will have to close.

“Anyone can come down and help who is over the age of 16, as that is how old you must be to drive a train on the miniature railway.

“We are the last miniature railway at a pub in the UK, the running of it does depend on the weather and in the summer when the weather is good we have a lot of people come to the pub for the railway.

“We have a good relationship with the pub and work well together.”

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Since the first appeal for volunteers Ron now has five people helping, but they are still looking for more people to come down and help run the railway and maintain the grounds and trains.

He said: “We have had quite a few people come down, but we still need more. I have been here for 18 years and I do not want the railway to close, we have all put a lot of work into it, particularly getting it back up and running after the fire, it will be a great shame if the miniature railway can not continue.”

For more information about helping with the Fancott Miniature Railway visit www.fancottrailway.co.uk