The logo for Epping Signalling Museum, to be seen on our guide clothing and communications.
TRY VOLUNTEERING - OPEN DAY
** SATURDAY 28th FEBRUARY **
We're holding a special 'Try Volunteering' day at Epping Signalling Museum. This isn't an ordinary public Museum Open Day, but your chance to come and talk to us and see if you could help our team to maintain and improve our London Underground-themed Museum.
We can't boast that our collection of tools is this extensive or even this well organised, but if your know your way around even some of them, our volunteers would be very happy to see you.
If you are a practical person and enjoy DIY tasks, we have lots of ideas for future projects we'd like to bring to the Museum. Could you be part of the team to make them a reality?
Are you a dab hand with a screwdriver, paint brush or power tools? Our 77 year old signal cabin needs its fair share of TLC and over the years our volunteers have successfully stripped old flaking paintwork and repainted all the walls & ceilings, both upstairs and downstairs.
They have repaired a leaking roof, re-glazed windows, sanded down swollen doors, replaced dangerous old wiring and re-plumbed various water pipes to name just a few! Now it all needs maintaining. Are these the sort of things you could do at the Museum?
Not only do we maintain a 77 year old signal cabin, we've also got our own, 95 year old ex-London Underground tube locomotive to look after. Over the last couple of years our volunteers have worked wonders renovating the outside of the loco - you can't fail to spot the bright yellow engineering train livery! But it's not finished yet! As soon as the weather permits, we need to complete the job by applying specialist varnish to seal the paint. Then, as the picture above shows, we still have to bring the inside of the loco back up to pristine condition. Do you fancy giving us a hand with that?
Our biggest need for new volunteers is for trainee Guides who can show our visitors around the Museum. If you have London Underground experience then you're ideally placed to explain our exhibits and the behind the scenes equipment we display. But don't worry if you've no railway background - we can take you through all the things you'll need to know, and more, giving you the confidence to explain the artefacts to even our most inquisitive visitors!
As Epping Signalling Museum is becoming more widely known, we are attracting more and more visitors. The Museum welcomes families, railway enthusiasts, the curious, local historians, current as well as former railway employees and even a few famous faces - the former Transport for London Commissioner Andy Byford and Michael Portillo with his TV crew have paid us visits. Our Museum was on the telly!!
Some days last season our existing Guides were so busy showing visitors around they barely had time to take a tea-break so they'd really welcome some help (and may well make you a cup of tea too!). Being a Guide is different every time you do it and you get to meet so many interesting people. If you're a 'people-person' this is definitely the role for you! Although we only open to the public on Saturdays we increasingly have a presence at the Museum on other days so if a weekend isn't good for you, don't be put off.
Whatever your strengths are, we'd like to meet you on this exclusive 'Try Volunteering' day and see how you could help preserve a piece of London Underground history. We're a friendly team and the kettle is always on.....
That diary date:- Saturday 28th February is 'Try Volunteering' day from 10am to 3pm.
Come to Epping Signalling Museum and see how you could make a difference!