{"id":246273,"date":"2025-07-04T17:28:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T07:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=179457"},"modified":"2025-07-04T17:28:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T07:28:05","slug":"lner-driver-completes-final-journey-after-46-years-up-front","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=246273","title":{"rendered":"LNER driver completes final journey after 46 years \u2018up front\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

An LNER train driver, who has been on the railway for 46 years, has completed his final journey before retirement.<\/p>\n

Mick Ingledew, 65, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, joined British Rail in January 1979 as a traction trainee. While working for the local council, a train driver parent of one of Mick\u2019s friends asked whether he had thought about joining the railway. Presented with the application forms, Mick filled them in, sent them to Newcastle Central Station, was invited for an interview, and then offered a job.<\/p>\n

From then on, Mick\u2019s career has seen him drive millions of miles up and down the near-1,000-mile LNER route and beyond, and he has been at the forefront of railway change.<\/p>\n

Starting his East Coast driving career at the controls of the iconic and hugely powerful \u2018Deltic\u2019 locomotives, his self-confessed favourites, Mick finishes his railway journey driving modern, high-speed Azuma trains, which carry the majority of the near 24 million LNER customers that travel each year.<\/p>\n

On Thursday 3 July, he completed his final drive. Joined on a return trip between Newcastle and London King\u2019s Cross by his daughter Lisa and son David, Mick was \u2018up front\u2019 on the 08:58 departure to the capital. He returned to his home station on the 14:30 departure from London to Tyneside.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe start of my career was very exciting, working on the powerful Deltics and working with fantastic, experienced drivers. I then spent some time in the freight industry, driving in Tyne Yard, which was pure passion for me, before taking the step into Driver Management in 1989. I returned back to being a driver around 10 years ago and I was welcomed back with open arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe book ends of my career have been real highlights for me. In the \u201890s, GNER was a fantastic company to work for in the new era of privitisation, and I have loved working for LNER most recently. The people are wonderful \u2013 we are one big family \u2013 and I have the best view, out of anyone, from my office window. It\u2019s been a brilliant career, and I would do it all again.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his career, Mick was part an elite club \u2013 a driver who \u2018signed\u2019 (was authorised to drive) the entire LNER route, including necessary diversion routes. This rare route knowledge enabled Mick to drive trains from London King\u2019s Cross to Leeds and West Yorkshire, York, Newcastle and the north east, Edinburgh, up the Fife coast to Aberdeen, and on the Highland Main Line to Inverness.<\/p>\n

Rachel Hardy, Mick\u2019s driver manager at LNER, said: \u201cI want to wish Mick the very best as he prepares for his well-earned retirement. I\u2019ve known Mick for 25 years from when I started on the railway as a guard and he has been so supportive of me throughout our time together on the iron road, especially as I was training to become a driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will be missed greatly by us all. He always has a story to tell about \u2018the old days\u2019 and is a true living legend of the railway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mick reflected on his time at the controls, adding: \u201cPassion has been in my blood for more than 45 years. You polish your shoes, you want to look the best and wear your uniform with pride, every day you go home wanting to think that you\u2019ve done the best you could have done in every situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrain driving is a brilliant career path and I\u2019ve had so many opportunities. I\u2019d recommend it to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Image credit: LNER<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>An LNER train driver, who has been on the railway for 46 years, has completed his final journey before retirement. Mick Ingledew, 65, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, joined British Rail in January 1979 as a traction trainee. While working for the local council, a train driver parent of one of Mick\u2019s friends asked whether he had thought [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8221,47,16016,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","category-rail-news","category-train-operating-companies","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=246273"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246313,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246273\/revisions\/246313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=246273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=246273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=246273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}