‘I never liked to be defeated’: Northern engineer retires after working to keep the trains running in Manchester for 53 years

Craig Neild, 70, retired from his role as an outstation fitter at Manchester Piccadilly earlier this week.

“I’m going to miss it,” he said. “I liked the challenges of the job and got on well with all the drivers, conductors, station staff and maintenance teams.

“I always took pride in the role I played – keeping the trains running and keeping the passengers happy.

“Everyday was different and I was always learning as a lot’s changed since I first started. They had just got rid of the last of the steam engines back then.”

Craig joined British Rail in August 1971 on a four-year apprenticeship at Longsight Electric depot.

After completing his training, he transferred to the depot at Newton Heath and worked there for more than 15 years, before he decided to join a small team of fitters in Manchester.

He was one of the experienced engineers who are called out to fix faults with trains and keep them moving for customers.

Craig, who lives in New Moston, said there are a lot of quick fixes, liked tripped circuit breakers or headlight bulbs that need to be replaced, but some serious faults cannot be dealt with on the track so the train needs to be cancelled and taken back to the depot.  

“I worked on my own when I was on duty and sometimes I only had a few minutes to take a look, diagnose the fault and make a decision,” he said.

“It’s a challenge, because you want that train to run but you also have to make sure everything is safe.  

“If I couldn’t find a fault, it would really annoy me because I never liked to be defeated.”

After saying goodbye to colleagues on Monday, Craig is planning to do some gardening, dog walking and plane spotting when he returns from a holiday with his wife.

Andy Jukka, Projects and Outstation Traincare Centre Manager at Northern, said: ”We are going to miss Craig as he heads off to enjoy his well-earned retirement.

“Throughout his career, he always turned up to work with an excellent attitude, determined to fix faults and keep trains running for passengers, but also used his wealth of experience to help colleagues at every opportunity.

“We wish him well and would like to thank him for his 53 years of outstanding service.”

Northern has a team of engineers who work round the clock to maintain and enhance more than 340 trains, which are used to safely transport tens of millions of passengers across the North of England every year. 

The operator is planning to make the largest ever investment in its fleet, by introducing up to 450 new trains. Earlier this year, it invited major train manufacturers to begin negotiations.

The new trains will be introduced on a phased basis, replacing the oldest units in Northern’s existing fleet, most of which have been in service since the 1980s and 90s.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.