2025 Trails & Rails Interpretive Guide

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All aboard! The National Park sites of Hyde Park, NY seek volunteers for its Trails and Rails program, a national partnership with Amtrak. This is a seasonal program that runs from June to November on board Adirondak and Empire Corridor trains. Volunteers board the train at Croton-Harmon and ride to Albany/Renesselear and back, sharing information about the cultural and natural features of the route to interested passengers in the train's cafe car. Trails and Rails volunteers help passengers connect to their public lands and engage in a better understanding of the need to preserve and protect these special places.

Duties performed by these volunteers include:

• Delivering educational programs onboard Amtrak, related to the cultural and natural resources along the train’s route
• Answering visitor inquiries about history and the Hudson Valley region
• In the event of an emergency, helping Amtrak crews execute evacuation procedures

Time Commitment

Volunteers sign up in pairs and typically work one shift per month. These shifts usually last about seven hours.

Skills and Qualifications

• Public Speaking
• Ability to effectively communicate orally with diverse individuals and groups.
• Customer Service
• Ability to work harmoniously with others and resolve conflicts under potentially stressful situations

In addition to the skills and qualifications listed above, all Trails and Rails volunteers must meet Amtrak Emergency Requirements:

• Ability to read/understand emergency evacuation instructions
• Ability to easily understand crew instructions
• Sufficient eyesight (may be accompanied by the use of glasses/contact lenses)
• Ability to hear (may be accompanied by the use of a hearing aid) and understand instructions shouted by crew members
• Ability to speak clearly/issue instructions to passengers
• Sufficient bodily mobility, strength, and dexterity in all limbs to assist/ direct others in the following:
• Reach upward, sideways, and/or downward to location of emergency exit mechanisms
• Grasp, pull, turn, or manipulate emergency exit mechanisms,
• Shove, pull, or open emergency exit mechanisms
• Lift, hold, or deposit on nearby seats/objects the size/weight of emergency exit windows (approx. 35 pounds)
• Maintain balance while removing obstructions of similar size/weight to emergency exit windows
• Reach emergency exits cautiously/quickly
• Exit the train via stairways, doors, and ladders cautiously and quickly
• Assist others in getting off the train
• Ability to stand for extended periods of time and walk the length of a moving train
• Walk on uneven surfaces such as the ballast (rock) which supports the train rails.

Training will be provided and is mandatory for all volunteers before the season begins. Prior experience in historic interpretation is not required.

Start Date - 2025-06-07

End Date - 2025-11-01