When visiting the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway I met Jack Gregory, who was on the footplate of Beyer Peacock 0-6-0T No. 822 The Earl at Welshpool. He was then a trainee fireman but two weeks later became a passed fireman – no mean feat for a 21-year-old.
Chatting to several younger crew members at Llanfair Caereinion later in the day, I was struck by the young age of many of the volunteers holding a variety of roles. It became clear that something different must be happening on the WLLR to attract younger people and get them involved in our sector.
Having visited many heritage lines over the years, I found it refreshing to see people in their late teens and early 20s giving up their free time to get their hands dirty, doing jobs most would not want to do.
As Jack, now aged 22, had just become a fireman, this seemed a good opportunity talk with him about his experience, training, and reasons why.
Q: Jack, you are too young to remember steam apart from on heritage lines. What was the attraction and where does your interest come from?
A: My interest in railways goes back to when I was little and my mum kept her horse at a stables that backed onto the Bluebell Railway. Every time I visited there I was taken to wave at the trains
