From Monday the 19th to Friday the 23rd of May, volunteers from Swanage Railway will be hosting an information and recruitment stand at Waterloo Station.

The stand at the London station will be marking the Rail 200 anniversary on the station’s concourse and will be supported by South Western Railway and Network Rail.

The stand will feature a display of the heritage line and its efforts to reconnect with the national railway network since 1976.

The display will also highlight the varied volunteering opportunities at the railway and how people can get involved.

Whilst being at Waterloo, the volunteers will be celebrating the 140th anniversary of the line’s opening. On the 20th of May 1885, the first public passenger train ran from Swanage and Corfe Castle to Wareham.

The railway has a history with Waterloo Station, from its Victorian T3 class steam locomotive No. 563, which was built in 1893 at Nine Elms.

The locomotive was saved from being scrapped in 1948, when it was selected to appear at the marking celebrations for the centenary of the station.

While information about volunteering can be found at the stand, further information can also be found on their website.

“A large number of people use the Waterloo station concourse so this is a wonderful opportunity to promote volunteering on the Swanage Railway and we are very grateful to Network Rail and South Western Railway for their generous help in enabling it to happen.

“We encourage visitors to travel to our information and recruitment stand at Waterloo station by South Western Railway because it is so easy and convenient to do so.

Matthew Richter, Volunteer Swanage Railway Trust Director