LNER Engineer Hangs Up His Spanner After 47 Years of Keeping Customers Moving

Nick Dudley, 64, from Romford, started on the railway on 4 September 1978 as an apprentice at London’s King’s Cross station. He has railway heritage, with his dad being a Station Master for the Great Eastern Railway.

My friend said I was mad joining the railway,” explained Nick. “My dad also said that it would be tough with all the shift work, which it was, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and have done all the way through.

Nick has worked in many roles and retires from LNER having most recently been responsible for overseeing much of the maintenance work on the InterCity 225 fleet of trains, which have carried millions of customers over the years.

Reflecting on his career, Nick said:

I only ever wanted to be an engineer. I was 16, straight out of school. I went to Ilford where I was told that I wasn’t good enough and got rejected, and they said that King’s Cross were looking for apprentices. They sent the papers through, I went for an interview, and they offered me a job there and then, so I took it and it was the best decision I’ve made. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time on the railway.

In the 1990s, Nick was one of the first people through the Channel Tunnel on a passenger train after he was asked to be a Rider on a train chartered by the tunnel’s project team shortly after completion. He recalls:

The French team came through from France to England and did a loop at Folkestone, and then we followed them back through. There was a big celebration in France – that was a good day.

The engineer has also met royalty on several occasions, firstly onboard the inaugural run of an InterCity 225 from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh Waverley with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and later he met the late monarch, along with His Royal Highness Prince Philip, in 2004 following the refurbishment of the famous steam locomotive, Mallard.

It was an honour to meet Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Philip was asking lots of questions about the work that had been undertaken. Meeting the Queen is my career highlight.

Asked what he’ll miss about the railway, Nick explained:

The people. I know it’s a cliché but it’s the camaraderie – I’ll really miss it. I’ve loved working, loved my job, but it’s time to cross a new bridge after 47 years of thinking about trains.

To be honest, it feels like I started yesterday. It has gone so quickly, and I can’t believe it has been 47 years.

However, as a devout railwayman, it’s not quite goodbye. Nick continued:

I’ll still be out on the route. I’ve already been approached by a preservation group to help them with their future plans, so I’ll still have a connection with the railway. But I’m going to enjoy my retirement, with my wife, doing what we want to do, when we want to do it.

Happy retirement Nick!