{"id":3931,"date":"2024-01-20T02:37:38","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T16:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=3931"},"modified":"2024-01-20T02:37:38","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T16:37:38","slug":"bluebell-railway-appoints-its-youngest-ever-steam-locomotive-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=3931","title":{"rendered":"Bluebell Railway appoints its youngest ever steam locomotive driver"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ben became the heritage line\u2019s youngest ever driver on his 21st birthday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credit: The Bluebell Railway<\/em><\/p>\n

After volunteering with the railway since the age of nine, Ben Gray was given his drivers card on his 21st birthday at the end of December.<\/p>\n

Ben is the son of the Bluebell Railway\u2019s Locomotive Engineering Director, Tim Gray, and the love of locomotives is clearly in his blood.<\/p>\n

Having been a member of \u2018The 9F Club\u2019 from a young age, Ben went on to become a cleaner for the railway at 16. He then became a fireman, before being recommended for the Bluebell Railway\u2019s driver training programme in early 2023.<\/p>\n

Ben took an exam on shunting duties and smaller locomotives handling in October, carried out on SECR No. 65 (O1). Then on December 30th, his twenty-first birthday, Ben took the next part of the exam, working on a larger locomotive- 6989 \u2018Wightwick Hall\u2019 \u2013 on a regular Bluebell Railway passenger working along the full length of the line.<\/p>\n

At the end of the exam, he was officially passed out by Bluebell Railway Inspector Chris Suitters at Sheffield Park, becoming the youngest driver in the railway\u2019s 64 year history. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe railway is extremely lucky to have a range of younger volunteers who like Ben, wish to keep steam alive,\u201d said a spokesperson for the Bluebell Railway.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ben became the heritage line\u2019s youngest ever driver on his 21st birthday. Credit: The Bluebell Railway After volunteering with the railway since the age of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":[321,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heritage-trains","category-rail-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t