Oldest work experience student yet fulfils a dream

Charlie Barker had always wanted to be a train driver

A lifelong railway enthusiast has seen his dream come true with a ride in the cab of a train at the age of 89.

Charlie Barker, who lives near Goole, East Yorkshire, wanted to be a train driver when he was younger, but he ended up taking a different path.

But after a member of the team at rail operator Lumo heard about his passion when their paths crossed during a recent journey, Mr Barker enjoyed some belated work experience.

"I didn't realise this could happen to me," he said.

It was a dream come true for Mr Barker

Mr Barker was born in a house next to Doncaster railway station, and he remembers trainspotting there.

"I remember sitting on a lady's garden wall in the next street overlooking the goods yard and watching the trains go by," he said.

In 1951, when he was 15, he followed his uncle by going to work on the railways.

He became a messenger boy at the goods yard and he went out on his bicycle to pick up and deliver goods around the town.

When he turned 16, he became an engine cleaner, and he rose through the ranks.

But Mr Barker said the Beeching Cuts of the 1960s halted his dream of becoming a train driver, and with a family to support he switched to a career in the power industry.

Mr Barker finally stepped into a cab decades after his career on the railways was cut short

He always missed being around trains, and after his wife died in 2021 he began to increase his trips on the railway.

It was on a recent trip home from Edinburgh that he met Rachel Firth, customer experience and innovation manager at train operator Lumo, who he told about his railway experience.

Ms Firth arranged for Mr Barker to step into the cab, decades after his original career path had gone in a different direction.

He enjoyed a first-class journey with Hull Trains from Selby to London King's Cross before enjoying the ride of a lifetime in the cab of an electric Lumo train from London to Newcastle.

Mr Barker with Rachel Firth on the platform

"It brought back a lot of memories because I used to go down there when I was a fireman on on the railway," he said.

Mr Barker described the experience as "unbelievable" and said his friends waved at him from a platform at Darlington with 90 balloons.

He added that he would "treasure" the experience and it was something he would not forget.

Ms Firth said: "Charlie's passion and background were truly inspiring. We often talk about careers on the railway beginning young, but why shouldn't they also come full circle later in life?

"We were delighted to make him our oldest work experience recruit yet."

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