Foley seeks volunteers to drive train around Heritage Park
Foley seeks volunteers to drive train around Heritage Park
With school out and summer here, Foley will be expanding its event train schedule and is seeking more volunteer drivers to carry passengers around Heritage Park three days a week.
Starting in June, the trains will run three days a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Passengers board and get off the train at the Foley Railroad Museum, located in the city’s historic 1909 L&N Depot on East Laurel Avenue. More info: 251-943-1200.
The train runs year-round on Saturdays. With the schedule expanding for the summer, more volunteer drivers are needed to keep the line rolling. Volunteers usually work two-hour shifts operating the train. The volunteers serve as a link to Foley’s railroad heritage that extends back 120 years.
The train includes about four passenger cars that can each carry up to four people, depending on the size of the passengers. The train usually drives a route around Heritage Park.
Anyone wanting to volunteer to drive a train can apply at the Foley Welcome Center between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Because drivers are operating city equipment and carrying passengers, volunteer drivers must undergo standard background checks that are part of municipal policy for anyone working with the public and operating vehicles.
“If you have the time, and you have the energy and all everything, that two-hour time period driving a train for little kids and old people is a lot of fun,” current driver Tom Miller said. Even though it’s just a two-hour time period, it fills your week.”
Each trip can be an adventure for the driver as well as passengers.
“You talk to people about where they’re from. I make it entertaining,” he said. “”The kids all chuckle, giggle and all of that. And the parents can be a little bit surprised sometimes that it’s fun and it’s not that long of a ride. It’s 15 to 20 minutes. It’s just most enjoyable for the kids. You can hear them. They’re just excited about it.”
“I tell the kids when they get on the train, here are the rules. There really aren’t any rules, but you have to listen to your moms, your dads, your grandpas, your grandpas. They make the rules and keep your hands and your toes and your knees and your nose, your hair and your bonnets all inside the car. Do not leave anything behind. I have a schtick, and you just make it fun for everybody,” Miller said.