'I'm 21 and drive trains on a heritage railway'

Oliver Kirkby is one of three recently-qualified drivers, all aged 21, on the Wensleydale Railway in North Yorkshire

A heritage railway now has three men who are qualified to drive its trains at the age of just 21.

Oliver Kirkby is one of the staff who began driving as soon as he reached the minimum age for operating the Wensleydale Railway's Pacer diesel units.

"It's pretty amazing. I turn up and basically do my hobby. It's all good fun," he said.

Mr Kirkby, from Harrogate, followed in the footsteps of George Stephens, who qualified as a driver in April.

A small staff of 10 work at the North Yorkshire heritage railway alongside a team of volunteers.

The line was originally closed to passengers in 1954, though parts of it remained opened for military traffic serving Catterick Garrison. It has been a preserved railway since 2003.

Marketing and fundraising manager Nick Keegan said it was "unusual" to attract young recruits to a pastime more often associated with elderly men.

"The heritage railway sector has always been very much retired people, driven by passion.

"They're people who have gone into this environment to preserve the railways so that future generations can enjoy them."

Mr Keegan added that the three young drivers had been at the Wensleydale Railway for three years and progressed through various roles.

"It's a credit to the people in the key positions, like our operations and engineering manager who oversaw the driver training and supervision and things."

Nick Keegan said it was "incredible" to see three drivers aged 21 qualifying within three months

Mr Kirkby said: "There was some people on the other week and they were discussing whether I was actually the driver or not because they didn't think I was old enough!"

He currently drives the Class 143 Pacers - 1980s diesels which were often used on commuter routes in Yorkshire until their retirement - and shunting engines.

"I'm doing various jobs around the railway here, not just driving trains all day.

"Hopefully I'll progress onto different loco types, build up my knowledge - maybe in the engineering side as well," he added.

"Anybody can do it if you've got the right mindset and are willing to put the time and effort in.

"When you're sat here you always see different scenery.

"It's different every day you do it, and even on a trip-by-trip basis there's always different things going on."

Oliver Kirkby said he enjoyed driving trains through the scenery along the line, which runs from Leeming Bar to Leyburn and Scruton

There are 350 volunteers at the railway, which trains them from the age of 18.

Mr Keegan said: "There's an awful lot of roles that volunteers can fill, not just potentially to become drivers in the future.

"The younger volunteers are the future of our railway and the future of society as well."

At 20 miles (32km) in length, the route is one of the longest heritage lines in the UK, running between Leeming Bar and Leyburn. The stations are themed around different time periods.

The first train ran on the preserved route 11 months before Mr Kirkby was born, following the formation of the Wensleydale Railway Company.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.