A GROUP of committed volunteers who have been working on several parts of Bala Lake Railway (BLR) have released a list of dates during which they will continue their work in 2019.

The group has been taking on 'working weekends' at the site over recent months to help improve facilities and the overall look of the station, as well as its carriages and its tracks.

Some of the work carried out by the group includes carriage and sign painting and chopping down trees and bushes to clear the tracks.

The group has also been working on a carriage called the Penrhyn Coach, with volunteer David Hale making progress on the seating, armrests and door handles.

Their next move will be taking on the task of relaying tracks on the weekend of January 19 and 20 and then between 21 and 24.

In February, the group will be making further improvements to the tracks on 16 and 17 and in March, they will be working on the Llangower passing loop.

Speaking on the importance of the work the volunteers do for the Railway, a spokesperson for the BLR said: "Bearing in mind the fact that we only have three full-time staff members here, we are indebted to our loyal band of volunteers who achieve so much and in all weathers.

"Throughout all this, the humour persists, as does the large amount of tea and flapjacks consumed.

"Credit goes to all who come to help the railway in the often bleak mid-winter months which is when, in the eyes of many, the bulk of the hard work gets done.

"We refer of course to the Working Weekends and the Wednesday Gang. Our intrepid teams have been beavering away at not only cropping trees and keeping the foliage at bay, but also the laborious task of major carriage refurbishment."