Volunteers as first-class crew
Same roster, same certification tracking, same access — with no per-seat charge, because charging per person is how volunteers end up off the system.
Heritage and tourist railroads
Volunteers, hundred-year-old equipment, and a season to run.
Weekend excursions, a Santa train that pays for the year, a roster of volunteers with real qualifications, and rolling stock whose inspection history matters more than its mileage.
01
A day, as it actually goes
| 07:30 | Two of Saturday's four volunteer crew have not confirmed. |
| 10:00 | A charter enquiry arrives for a date that clashes with a boiler inspection. |
| 12:15 | The autumn timetable needs publishing and last year's is still on the website. |
| 14:40 | Somebody asks what was done to the coach's brake rigging in 2019. The answer is in a binder. |
| 19:00 | Ticket sales for the season need reconciling against the bank. |
02
What changes
01
02
Seasonal timetables
Build the autumn variant alongside the summer one, publish on a date, and roll back if the season changes.
03
Inspection history that outlives everyone
Attached to the piece of equipment, not to a binder or a person. The 2019 brake rigging answer takes ten seconds.
04
Tickets, memberships and donations
Optional, on your own domain. You are the merchant of record and receipts carry your name. Our fee is 1%, on the label.
03
What it looks like
- × A. Whitcomb — CDL medical card expires in 11 days
- ! M. Okonkwo — engineer recertification expires in 38 days
- ✓ T. Reyes — passenger endorsement expires in 8 months
- ✓ J. Barrow — conductor, volunteer expires in 11 months
Warnings start at 60 days, not the morning it lapses.
Prairie Line 1 · Eastbound · weekdays
| Millbrook | Sarno | Hallett Jct | Depot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05:52 | 06:11 | 06:36 | 06:58 |
| 09:15 | 09:34 | 09:59 | 10:21 |
| 14:40 | 14:59 | 15:24 | 15:46 |
| 17:25 | 17:44 | 18:09 | 18:31 |
Same schedule as the dispatch board. There is only one.
04
Honest limits for this kind of operation
- The commerce module is $49/month plus 1% of what you collect, on top of your processor's fee. If you sell nothing, you pay neither.
- We do not do boiler or FRA certification itself — we hold the record and the reminders, and a qualified person does the work.
- If you run three trains a year and already have a system that works, this may be more than you need. Say so and we will agree.
Usually the right plan
Heritage — $149/month
5 pieces of equipment included, schedules, crew, maintenance and ticketing.