Further to the article regarding John Harrison and the Friends of Narborough Station (FONS), we thought it appropriate to highlight the activities of the other group who are involved with our station.
We are a group of volunteer Station Adopters affiliated to East Midlands Railways (EMR) who manage the station. They provide us with Health and Safety training, access to facilities, information on all railway matters that affect the station, and, of course, the bright pink vests, which you will see us wearing when we are on the station platforms. EMR also provides assistance with funding of our projects, along with Cross Country Trains, the train service operator for Narborough. Anyone can become a Station Adopter, subject to the necessary training provided by EMR, and it is not a pre-requisite to be a member of FONS or any other organization.
Our motivation is to make the experience of visiting Narborough Station a very pleasant one, and make the residents of Narborough and Littlethorpe proud of their station. To do this we try to keep the platforms, toilets and waiting room as tidy as possible, while providing flower displays to make the station attractive to the visitor and resident. We will always chat to commuters and answer any questions they may have, if possible. In this we are greatly assisted by our excellent Station Master, Keiron, who has been such an invaluable help to us, and is a great asset to the station.
As with FONS, we were very active in the great effort to save our Ticket Office, encouraging passengers and visitors to register their views in keeping this valuable facility open. We are so pleased that all of everyone’s efforts have been successful. This year, we also displayed large poppies and a flag for Remembrance Day alongside our partnership with the Busy Hands Group who provided the crochet flower display.
At present the flower displays on the platforms are funded by Narborough Parish Council who take a great interest in the station. We have many plans to increase the number and variety of displays and we are actively seeking further funding from local businesses for this. Their contributions will be displayed at the station. They can contact the Adopters at the email address at the end of this article. The Station Adopters began with two very dedicated people who did so much to make Narborough Station what it is today. We have now expanded to six and everyone’s energy and commitment have been excellent this year. However, we are always on the lookout for more members to help us. If you are interested in becoming a Station Adopter and can give a couple of hours a week, or if you wish to fund some of our displays, please contact us on narboroughstationadopters@gmail.com