Gene E. Spear Railroad Garden Volunteers
Volunteering in the train garden is a little bit of play with large scale model trains and a lot of being social with visitors.
Beginning in April the trains run 6 days a week, 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, weather permitting, with the operators being present in shifts. On Sunday the trains run from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm.
This schedule lasts until about the middle of October.
- Shifts are generally about 3 hours long, except for Sunday, which is one four-hour shift.
- Other days may end up being two four-hour shifts if only two volunteers are available.
- There are generally openings any day, but Saturday is an important day and the hardest for which to find help.
- You may volunteer for one or more days.
Knowledge of railroading is not a requirement – just enjoying outdoors with visitors in a pleasant setting. Yes, we have women operators.
- First, you may sit with an operator to see if this is something you would like to do.
- If your decision is “Yes,” then you attend a two-hour session made up of class time and show-and-tell time. It sometimes lasts longer if there are lots of questions or comments.
- Then you get to be with an operator until you feel secure in doing it by yourself.
If you are interested or want to learn more, call Claudia at 316-688-0470. She is in charge of maintaining the garden, the layout, the trains and lining up the schedule.
