Membership
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The Friends was established in the 1980's to promote and support Darlington Railway Centre and Museum through railway related events and practical assistance. Friends can still get involved with such events, although they are now organized directly by the Museum, as well as enjoying the benefits of membership:
Free entry to the Museum. Please note that the Museum has occasional special events to which this does not apply.
The Friends' monthly meetings. Usually the main feature of these meetings is a talk on a railway related subject. The Christmas meeting is more free-wheeling whilst the January talk covers the progress and prospects of the Museum. A little business is usually enacted at meetings and this includes the longer AGM which is “double billed” with a shorter talk. Look on the Events page to find out more about what's going on.
The Friends' Newsletter. Includes announcements, summaries of recent talks and other articles. More below.
The opportunity to get involved. We would hope that the three previous items provide good reason to join the Friends but membership can also bring the chance to help at the Museum. Naturally the Museum is dear to the hearts of many members and the chance to help out, in the various ways listed below, is the icing on the cake.
Talk: Robert Stephenson. Michael Taylor MBE gave two talks about Stephenson accompanying the Museum's exhibition Robert Stephenson: Images of the Man, his Life and Works.
Talk: Teesdale Tracks and Derailing Dukes. Chris Lloyd of the Northern Echo gave a typically entertaining account of railway development around Barnard Castle.
Talk: John "Paddy" Waddell. Charles McNab's attempt to bolster the reputation of a railway contractor who deserves to be better remembered. His poor reputation locally is largely to do with "Paddy" Waddel's Railway.
Talk: The Construction of Durham Viaduct. David Butler's account of... er... the construction of Durham Viaduct and the line it was originally built to carry- a branch from Bishop Auckland to Sunderland.
Plus the usual Diary pages listing the programme for the Friends and the Museum, the quiz from the Christmas get-together, messages from Chairman Richard Wimbury and Museum Manager David Tetlow and other of items of interest.
Please Note: An item that would have been mentioned in the Newsletter had it come to the editor's attention in time concerns the Railway Heritage Committee. If you are indifferent to the RHC never mind but, should you be for or against it, you will want to know about a Department of Transport proposal to abolish it transferring its responsibilities to trustees of the Science Museum. Read all about it at the DoT website.
If you are considering joining the Friends and wonder whether the Newsletter is any good a PDF version of an old issue is posted here (5.6MB). This link will open a new tab or browser window depending on which browser you use or you can right-click the link and choose to save the file locally. Apologies to Mac' users- obviously you cannot right-click anything using a mouse that only has one button but there must be an equivalent
Can't download the sample? You will need Adobe Reader or a suitable browser plug-in to view this or any other PDFs for that matter. If you lack either, which is very unlikely, Adobe Reader is free and can be downloaded from here. Versions specific to Windows, Mac' or Linux can be selected here. Readers with dial-up internet access be warned: this will be a large file, a few hours over a decent 'phone line, so you might like to download it at your local Library. As for browsers there are so many on different operating systems I can only refer you to your help menu although installing Reader will probably set your browser up too.
If you have specific skill or specialized knowledge that can be applied at the Museum or just the spare time to lend a hand your efforts will be welcomed. You can:
Show people around. Lead guided tours at Heritage Open Days.
Contribute I.T. skills. Assist with general clerical work or cataloguing.
Contribute design skills. Help to develop new displays.
Interpret. Visitors come to the Museum from all over the world. If you speak a foreign language you can help them enjoy their visit.
Shift stuff. Help prepare for special events.
Make an exhibition of yourself. Some special events will see members of the Friends in costume becoming part of the exhibition and adding to the atmosphere.
The Museum itself organizes volunteer activities. If you would like to help at the Museum you need to contact the Museum's Access Officer who may be reached directly on 01325 734128.
If any of this appeals and you would like to join the Friends of Darlington Railway Centre and Museum we would be delighted to welcome you as a member.
There is a membership application form in PDF format suitable for printing that you can download by clicking here. Please print it out, read and complete it carefully and send it, with payment, to the Membership Secretary at the address in the form.
Can't download the form? If the link to download the form did not work it might be because you do not have Adobe Reader installed or your browser does not include a plug-in that lets it read PDFs. Adobe Reader is free to download as described above.
If you know that you do have Adobe Reader installed try right-click the form link to save it on your system and load it into Reader from there.
