The North Yorkshire Moors Railway gained a new volunteer 30 years ago, who is now their Head of Mechanical Engineering.

Nick Simpson, 42, began volunteering at Grosmont Station as a tearoom volunteer.

Following his Tearoom volunteering, he trained as an apprentice diesel fitter on-site.

During his long history of volunteering, he earned a first-class degree in Engineering from The Open University, which he completed in seven years of part-time study, as he is a married father of two and was working full-time for the charity.

He now manages staff and volunteers who are passionate about the railway.

“I can’t stress enough how good it is for [someone] if they can get on that ladder and get a degree course under them. I’ve benefited immensely,”

He said tackling projects is much more scientific: “Now you have to step back and you think, right, what are the risks? What are we going to do and how to finance it? It gives you a better overview of engineering.”

“Seeing that steam engine thrashing past with seven coaches absolutely full of families waving at you because of something you’ve mended – now that’s a buzz. That’s brilliant. And also, there’s nowhere around here that I can do the big engineering restorations that I do here,”

Nick Simpson