The Great Central Railway (GCR) has launched a Patreon webpage that enables supporters of the railway to contribute to the railway by making monthly donations.

Patreon is a website set up in 2013 that provides an easy way for supporters to make regular donations. In the case of the Great Central, they will go towards the continuing preservation and development of the railway.

The need for such a webpage follows sentiments often echoed among supporters that they wished there were a way for people who loved the Great Central Railway to give a small amount each month.

Among the benefits for supporters who contribute through Patreon is access to exclusive content and closer engagement with the railway. Patreon has several membership tiers, with the railway’s first tier, “Porter,” now live, which has entry-level contributions costing less than the price of a cup of coffee.

Benefits for supporters who join Patreon include early access to videos, chances to see what goes on behind the scenes, exclusive updates, and the chance to take part in Q&A sessions.

The driving force behind joining Patreon was to generate a reliable, year-round income stream, improve connections between the railway and its global supporters, expand the public’s interest in its operations, heritage, and engineering, and help with volunteer recruitment.

It also hopes that it will raise awareness of major projects, such as the ongoing Reunification initiative to reunite the railway with the Great Central (North), based at Ruddington just outside Nottingham. A further benefit is that the consistent content shared through the site will help the railway’s archival efforts by documenting day-to-day activities.

In launching Patreon, the Great Central is following a trend among other heritage organisations to adopt digital platforms to support engagement with and funding by supporters. The hope is that giving supporters the chance to have a more active role in the railway, they will eventually lead them to become long-term advocates and ambassadors.

Further information about the Great Central Railway‘s Patreon page can be found here.

The Patreon initiative is entirely separate from the funds it is seeking for its Reunification project.

“This is about more than fundraising, it’s about building a stronger relationship with the people who care about what we do – whether they visit regularly or follow our work from afar.”

” Jonathan Fraser, Great Central Railway’s Head of Marketing at GCR, said.