VolkerRail gives St James Church a new lease of life
VolkerRail employees have volunteered at St James Church, in Tebay, to help tidy and repaint the entrance, stairs and community room.
The team is currently working on Area D of the North West and Central Signalling Power Upgrade, which stretches from Carlisle to Carnforth. This project began in February 2023, and involves replacing existing feeder cables and functional supply points across the network.
As part of the ongoing works, the team wanted to give back to the local community. With the project office being located on the site of the original Tebay station and engineering sidings, the team reached out to the local church, which has a long history with the railway.
St James church was built in 1880 to provide a spiritual place for the influx of railway workers. It was created in the style of the region’s railway stations with the interior architecture displaying red and white brickwork, and is still known to this day as the ‘Railway Church’.
Over the course of two weeks the volunteers tidied the main entrance, stripped back and repainted two sets of wrought iron gates and addressed the damp issues in the lower part of the church, named the Hub. This area is at the very base of the steeple and is a meeting point for the church groups and Sunday school.
The team started by stripping back the loose flaking paint and treating the walls with an anti-fungicidal paint, before repainting the entire room, ceilings, access stairs and entrance.
Jon Nolan, VolkerRail’s construction manager, said: “It was a true team effort, and I am proud of the results – well done team.”
Commenting, the church said: “Thank you to the volunteers for repainting the church. The Hub is now a more pleasing and welcoming space, your help is very much appreciated.”
