Out of puff at station

A lack of volunteers to help run the cafe and museum forced the Collie Railway Station to close its doors at the weekend.

Having already made the decision to close during the week for the same reason, volunteer Kathrine Hall said she simply did not have enough hands to keep the tourist attraction operating.

“On the weekends we really need three of us on the roster,” she said.

“When we were open weekdays, at our peak, we had about eight volunteers, then each of us can just do one day a week.”

The Railway Station, located on Throssell Street, holds a library, historical collections, model trains and a famous Thomas the Tank Engine replica.

All volunteers are given access to the AHA Hospitality and Tourism COVID-19 Hygiene course and the Collie Shire Food Handling course.

Roles at the museum range from food handling and making tea and coffee to showing groups through the museum.

“You don’t need a great knowledge of the history of Collie but if you can tell people about the three power stations and the two mines, you will be fine,” Mrs Hall said.