Stepping Back In Time: Victorian Volunteering

Our first Saturday of July volunteering day was a little bit different this month… and we loved every second of it.

On Saturday 6th July, instead of the usual weeding and sprucing up the platform, LonGBoaT Wakefield helped facilitate something a bit special at Wakefield Kirkgate Station — a full-on historical photoshoot!

With permission from Northern Trains, we welcomed a group of local historians working on a Railway 200 project for Transport for Wales, who used our Victorian station into a working photo studio for the day. Costumes, props, cameras, dramatic poses — the lot.

Our own Vice Chair Chris even got roped into dressing up when they were short on volunteers. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Chris in full period garb, strolling the platform like it’s 1850.

Meanwhile, superstar volunteer George was on hand capturing some brilliant behind-the-scenes moments — always with an eye for the magic happening between takes.

It was a genuinely fun and unusual day, and such a brilliant way to celebrate the station’s heritage while making space for creative projects in the community.

Keep your eyes peeled — we’ll be sharing the final results of the shoot once the project’s released. Trust us, it’ll be worth the wait. Big thanks to everyone involved, and to Northern for letting us be part of something a bit out of the ordinary.