'If Margaret doesn’t know the answer, no-one will'

A special message was displayed in Carlisle thanking Margaret Jones for her almost four decades' service

A rail support worker, whose parents also worked in the same industry, has retired after 37 years.

Margaret Jones, from Carlisle, helped colleagues on the West Coast Main Line for almost four decades through her work.

Earlier generations of her family also worked on the railway, including her great-grandfather, who drove steam trains between Carlisle and Glasgow.

Ms Jones said: "I’m proud to have worked in the same place as my family - following in their footsteps and contributing towards our decades of service on the west coast."

Her father worked in the booking office at Carlisle and her mother held various clerical roles there before working onboard trains.

Staff praised Margaret Jones for her "wealth of knowledge"

With an aspiration to follow in her mother’s footsteps, Ms Jones said she applied for a role in the typing pool at Carlisle station and started the temporary position on 8 December 1986 .

She then moved into various clerical roles, including roster clerk at Carlisle and clerical support in Preston.

Most of her working life was spent in Preston, before she returned to Carlisle station in 2022.

“Carlisle is close to my heart – it’s where I live and the place where my mam and dad were based during their railway careers," she added.

"It has been great to have started my career here, as well as finish it."

She called the railway her "extended family" and was excited for a new challenge with retirement.

Warren Grigg, from Avanti West Coast, said: "She’s a wealth of knowledge and if Margaret doesn’t know the answer, no-one will."