The Feather River Rail Society announces an opportunity to join its operating department at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola. “If you have always wanted to have a taste of ‘working on the railroad,’ such as connecting air hoses, giving hand signals to the engineer and pulling pins on couplers, then this is your opportunity,” say organizers.
The museum operates trains every weekend between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Volunteers also run a Pumpkin Patch Express in October, Santa Trains in December and trains for other special events.
FRRS members designated active and above who would like to participate on the museum’s train operating crews are required first to take a rules examination and sign a liability release and then to be instructed in safe operating procedures. Those who are not members, or whose membership is at a lower level, can join or upgrade at the crew training.
The annual crew training for 2025 will be held Saturday, May 3, at the museum. Training consists of updates to the society’s General Code of Operating Rules, the annual rules test and various procedures used in the operating department. Training will continue with hands-on operations along with time for questions and answers.
The rules examination is an open-book test in the FRRS General Code of Operating Rules with no time limit. Participants must have a copy of the rules book in their possession to take the examination. A copy will be provided at the training for those who don’t have one. It is also available online. A passing grade is 75% or above.
Upon participants’ successful completion of the rules exam, they will be instructed in hand signals, getting on and off moving equipment, coupling of air brake hoses and other safe and correct operating procedures. Participants must wear work gloves and heavy work boots that lace up over their ankles.
Registration for crew training is available at https://wplives.org/register_for_crew_training.html.
