A heritage line has proven that railway children run in its blood.
The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, location for the filming of the classic 1970 movie The Railway Children, has rolled out its own families of volunteers ever since.
K&WVR spokesman Jim Shipley said that right from the earliest days of railways in the 1800s, trains and tracks got “into the blood of a family” and this tradition still continued. The railway’s preservation society currently boasts three sets of parent-child volunteers.
Steam train driver Andrew Simpkins’s father worked on British Rail and now his son, Alex, is developing his own role in the locomotive department.
Driver Nick Hellewell’s daughters, Frances and Emma, were involved from a very early age and civil maintenance volunteer Paul Curtis’s middle son, Joe, went on to take up a career in Network Rail.
Joe said: “I have been a regular visitor to the railway all my life, becoming gradually more involved as a volunteer when I was old enough.
“The friends I have made through the K&WVR remain one of the many reasons why I volunteer there.”
Mr Shipley added: “Let us all hope that in future generations, railway families are still around as they are not just part of the railway but of history itself.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here