THE heatwave over June and July has posed stiff challenges for volunteers on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. (K&WVR)

An increase in track-side fires and energy-sapping conditions for volunteers working outside were among hurdles overcome by the popular attraction during the previous two months.

Niall Kelly, who is part of the K&WVR marketing team, said one compensation has been the healthy numbers of visitors who have come to the heritage line this summer.

He added: "We've seen an increase in visitor numbers compared to last year. This could of course be due to the hot weather, but also because of our anniversary gala. In July this year we've had a 96.25 per cent increase in visitors compared to July 2017.

"But the weather has made life difficult, especially over the 50th anniversary gala from June 24 to July 1.

"It was a long stint for all our volunteers and the heat didn’t help, but we managed it.

"Praise must go to all our hard working volunteers who literally kept the wheels turning. They are looked after throughout periods of hot weather with cold drinks and ice creams to keep them going!"

Mr Kelly said conditions had been tough for crews driving the steam engines, pointing out the temperature can reach up to 50 degrees centigrade on the footplate of a steam locomotive.

However, he said: "The locomotives were designed with this in mind, so they have vents and the equivalent of a sunroof that act as a very good ventilation system when travelling at speed.

"In addition, the line is only five miles long so when the train gets to each end of the line, cold drinks and ice creams are usually waiting for the crews.

"And there are trips from Haworth to Oxenhope where the footplate crew will swap so the original crew can have a lunch break and cool off.

"Over the extended period of hot weather, we did see a large increase of line-side fires, in particular during the anniversary gala.

"We couldn’t have predicted the high temperatures we'd have over this eight-day event.

"Due to the large amount of steam engines we had running over the period we did see fires on most parts of the line.

"However, we had volunteers along the length of the railway with fire beaters which proved effective in ensuring fires didn’t spread and get out of control.

"Also, all our locomotive cabs are fitted with hoses from the engine's water supply, and the guards' compartments are equipped with fire beaters and portable water supplies."