For a few years we have welcomed interns from the University of Reading’s internship scheme. This is Raj Khan’s account of his time with us.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as a social media intern for Didcot Railway Centre.

I applied for the position to gain more experience in media and marketing, while learning about the history of Great Western Railway. Since Didcot Railway Centre is hosting several events throughout April, I had a lot of work to do to advertise and promote them online.

Our three social media channels are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Our Facebook page is @DidcotRailwayCentre and it is one of our most versatile online platforms because we can upload visual images of our steam locomotives and diesel engines; we can post the occasional written text for updates on meetings and general public safety announcements.

Our Twitter page has three social media channels: our main page is @DidcotRailwayC – we post the same content here as we do on Facebook.

The difficulty is Twitter reduces your character count, so we create concise posts, which grabs our visitor’s attention.

I helped garner more attention to two pages belonging to two of the centre’s residents. When you visit us, you will notice an adorable cat called Marmalade – she is the Didcot Railway Centre cat and she adopted us a few years ago. If you follow her @MarmaladeDRC, you can see her exploring the centre and having fun. Our other resident is Archie – the Great Western Engine Driver whose page is @ArchieDRC. Our Archie Trail guide teaches visitors about the history of our locomotives, coaches, wagons and buildings.

If you do not use Twitter or Facebook regularly, you can see pictures of our locomotives and carriages on Instagram.

We have publicised events such as Saint Class ‘Lady of Legend’ (5-7 April). Currently, we have advertised on all platforms about The Impossible Dream weekend (19-22 April), where the Lady of Legend, King Edward II and the Steam Railmotor No. 93 will be in action together for the Easter weekend. Events such as ‘Off The Rails’ at the end of April and the Teddy Bears’ Picnic in July will be advertised soon.

I have done other jobs in the ticket office and providing good customer service. My co-workers have been very friendly, and I am glad I have worked with them.

Although I am still a novice in my knowledge of locomotives, I could not have asked for a better place to work and learn about the history of the Great Western Railway.