A NEW station master is wanted to marshal one of East Lancashire’s most popular halts – but he or she need not be a ‘Fat Controller’.

But just like the Thomas The Tank Engine character, the lucky candidate will have the opportunity, at Ramsbottom Station, to enjoy the golden era of railways.

East Lancashire Railways is searching for a station master who can keep the platforms spic and span for the ten of thousands of visitors who arrive in the town via the heritage line.

The volunteer role has attracted some of local railways’ most devoted servants down the years, with Brian Almond and Margaret Barber both taking on the duties with distinction for more than a decade apiece.An experience of railway operations would be an advantage but the position is being thrown open beyond the ELR membership.

David Leyland, ELR’s finance director, said: “One of the main things, from a volunteer’s point of view, is that they would have the opportunity to put something back into their local community.”

Originally the job, when Ramsbottom was part of the national rail network, would have seen the station master responsible for around a dozen full-time workers.

Today the post, for over-18s only, involves overseeing a small volunteer army, making sure the ticket office runs like clockwork adn ensuring the station is ‘tidy and clutter-free’.

The station master will form part of a network of ‘controllers’, reporting to stations director Alex Walker, who can be contacted about the Ramsbottom role via e-mail at stations.director@east-lancs-rly.co.uk, before noon on Sunday, July 14.