The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is celebrating after one of its apprentices was shortlisted in the Rising Star category at the HRA (Heritage Railway Association) Annual Awards.

The nomination of mechanical apprentice Charlie Bauckham came ahead of next week’s National Apprenticeship Week 2026 from 9th to 15th February, which continues the railway’s association with the annual event.

Charlie originally worked on the railway as a junior volunteer, then in September 2023, he joined the Mechanical Apprenticeship intake at Grosmont Motive Power Depot (MPD). At first, he worked on steam locomotives, but later developed a talent for maintaining diesel locomotives, and he is now part of the diesel department.

Charlie left home and moved to the NYMR area in September 2023 so that he could pursue and develop his career on the railway while studying with a training provider at a college in Teesside.

Alongside working at Grosmont MPD, Charlie has continued his academic studies and is working towards his Level 3 qualifications, and has been assessed as competent on various engineering and technical tasks. Among his daily duties are the routine examination of diesel locomotives, their preparation, and refuelling. He also updates locomotive crews and makes sure locomotives leave the shed on time to meet their timetable. He is also learning the roles of diesel and steam duty fitters so that he can work shifts.

Outside his day-to-day duties, Charlie has signed up for fire patrols and has qualified as a fully trained first aider.

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is ideally suited to provide the skills and training for apprentices in traction and rolling stock, and in lineside conservation, with its apprenticeship scheme providing young people with the skills they need for working on heritage railways.

Many of the railway’s previous apprentices have gained a wide range of qualifications and practical skills, and have become permanent paid employees at the railway.

As well as heritage railways, operators on the national network are also celebrating National Apprenticeship Week, including Govia Thameslink Railway, where there has been an increase in the number of women starting apprenticeships.

“Charlie’s star quality is his eagerness to learn. He always tackles projects methodically with an excellent standard of work. He goes the extra mile by always following this work up with rides out, test trips and learning on the footplate. We could not ask more of the way he supports the team, deals with the pressures of workload and puts his all into supporting the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.”

Nick Simpson, North Yorkshire Moors Railway Head of Mechanical Engineering