The railway, which climbs steeply out of Keighley station, has for so long been part of the fabric of the town, it's easy to imagine it has always been so – and always will be.

The railway was first opened in 1867, but was closed in 1962. A Preservation Society was formed by local people determined not to see ‘their’ railway line close, and the decision was taken to reopen line to Oxenhope – a dream that became reality with the reopening special in 1968, and we have proudly run steam and heritage diesel trains every weekend and in school holidays through the lovingly restored stations on historic trains ever since.

To keep the railway ‘On Track’ requires a huge effort from our pool of about 500 volunteers and a significant income. We aim to have five steam engines available for operation at a time, with each requiring a full overhaul every ten years.

The latest estimate to bring one of our locomotives back into the operational fleet is nearly £300,000, which gives an idea of the magnitude of the challenges we face.

As well as the running costs, the railway needs to develop to respond to the changing needs and expectations of our passengers, and so we have recently invested nearly £50,000 on new toilets at Oxenhope, and we have ambitious plans to improve our engineering facilities at Haworth. We hope as part of this development to provide an engaging training and demonstration facility so visitors can appreciate the skills that represent such an important part of history, which would otherwise be in danger of being consigned only to the history books.

To explain further the history and context of our complete branch line railway, I am working with Oxenhope Parish Council and Welcome to Yorkshire on a smartphone ‘app’ that will help encourage passengers to enjoy the delights (and frequent the businesses) in the surrounding villages.

Running the railway to convey our 120,000 passengers per annum takes a blend of skills. We have the engineers who restore and maintain the engines, carriages, the gas-lighting and the track; the passenger-facing station staff, who run guided tours and explain the railway to visitors, sell tickets and refreshments and operate the level crossings; the operating staff, who after years of training have the honour of driving the locomotives and ‘guarding’ the train; and then there is a cadre of volunteers that manages the operation and administration of the railway.

We are always keen to welcome new members to the team, and further details are available from volunteer@kwvr.co.uk and the kwvr.co.uk website.