Trouble ahead as heritage railways face steam train driver shortage

BRITAIN’S heritage railways are in danger of running out of steam, as bosses revealed a “pressing need for new blood” and called for younger volunteers to replace drivers on the brink of retirement.

The Swanage Railway in Dorset – one of the biggest heritage lines in the country – needs to find 40 drivers over the next five years to fill the gap.

The majority of their drivers are aged 60 or above and are likely to step down in the coming years. While the retirements will be phased, the railway must act now, as training a new steam driver can take at least four years.

David Rawsthorn of the Swanage Railway said: “We have 42 drivers – the youngest is 27, and the oldest, still fit as a fiddle, is 79. We need seven or eight new drivers every year for the next five to ten years to cope with drivers retiring.”

The not-for-profit company has been operating since the late Seventies and has a small number of paid staff, more than 500 volunteers and attracts 200,000 visitors a year.

Despite the increased interest in steam trains, with heritage lines attracting over 13million visitors a year, other services have admitted that they too are suffering from an ageing workforce.

Michael Gough, managing director at Great Central Railway (GCR) in ] Leicestershire said that while “plenty of people want to drive a train”, wider volunteering positions, such as train guards and platform staff, struggle to attract younger applicants.

He said: “It’s quite often difficult to get younger people to train up as guards. There is no doubt that heritage railways have quite an old age profile. It’s the sort of thing that people come to do when they’re in semi-retirement or in retirement.”

Currently, GCR have 30 guards covering 52 weeks a year with the oldest in their 70s.

“Throughout the summer we run almost every day, and in the winter at least three days a week, and every single train we operate has a guard. It’s quite a challenge,” said Mr Gough.

Epping Ongar Railway in south-west Essex also said it struggles to fill support staff roles with younger people.

Dean Walton, general manager, said: “The real challenge is getting young people into volunteering in a whole host of other positions such as maintenance, engineering, permanent way, catering and other jobs needed to keep our wheels turning.”

To conquer the age gap, North Yorkshire Moors Railway has plans in place to develop volunteers and recruit 12 apprentices to ensure its continuation.

There are 156 steam heritage railways and about 30 steam museums and centres in Britain, and Steve Oates, chief executive at the Heritage Railway Association, has said that there is a “pressing need for new blood”.