A manager with train operator Northern has retired after 48 years of service working on the railway.

Geoff Price, aged 67, retired from Northern as a conductor team manager at Blackpool North station. He joined British Rail as a carriage cleaner in Enfield Road Carriage Sidings in Blackpool in July 1976.

Since then, Geoff has held numerous other jobs on the railway, including shunter, station chargeman, and revenue protection inspector.

Geoff joined the railway after his uncle Tony Bretherton, a train driver based at Blackpool North, put in a good word for him. He enjoyed the work, and still can’t stand dirty windows or any muck.

After spending the next 12 years working as a shunter at Blackpool North Station, Geoff decided that shunters would soon not be required because the new diesel units had automatic couplings.

Looking to move on, in 1990 Geoff transferred to a role as a station chargeman at Blackpool North Station, where he worked to make sure trains left on time.

In 1992, Geoff was promoted to station supervisor and was part of the team that won the Best Kept Station Award three years running in the 1990s.

For a short time, Geoff was a revenue protection inspector at Manchester Piccadilly, but in 1997, he returned to Blackpool North to work as a train inspector, where he managed traincrew and helped to ensure services ran smoothly. Geoff remained at Blackpool North until his retirement.

His role as train inspector changed in 1999 to train manager, and later changed again to conductor team manager.

When Geoff started he didn’t know much about tickets, their validity, or railcards.

He had to work many things out for himself, and if he asked a question, the chief revenue protection inspector would tell him “You’re an inspector now, go and find out”. He soon developed a sixth sense for spotting fare dodgers and was told he was quite good at it.

Working on the railway must be a satisfying career, as many employees accumulate decades of services, such as Tommy Michalek who retired from Avanti West Coast in 2022 after 50 years of service on the West Coast Main Line, and Karen Grimshaw who retired as Station Manager at Stockport in Greater Manchester in March this year after 35 years service on the railway.

“Working on the railway has been fantastic for me, he said. Everything I’ve got and been afforded over the years has come to me through working on the railway. The experieces I’ve had and the people I’ve worked with have shaped me into the person I am today. I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m going to miss everybody, it’s like being part of a family. Not working with these guys and girls day in day out will be a very different experience for me. But it really is time to go as I’m not getting any younger. I want to spend some quality time with my lovely wife Patricia and Roxy Dog, my 11-year-old Chocolate Labrador.”

Geoff Price