HELLIFIELD signalman Bob Ashworth has finally decided to hang up his railway cap after a long career.

Bob began his life on the Railway, working at Rosegrove, in Burnley, in 1966 straight from school at the age of 15.

His work choice was not looked on favourably by the careers master at his school when at the age of 14 Bob said he wanted to work on the railways.

“The career’s master looked at me in desperation and said: ‘Boy, I refuse to put this down until you come back and tell me a job with a future’.

“Well, Mr Hartley. you’re probably not about now, but if you are, it didn’t work out that bad after all. Don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams.”

Bob’s first job was cleaning the old steam engines but quickly progressed to becoming a fireman, staying in the role until the very last day of steam in August 1968.

He was then transferred to Stratford in East London, continuing as a second man (assistant driver) on the diesel engines, which he thought was great as the drivers were only a few years older than himself and allowed him to drive the engines under their supervision.

He worked out of Liverpool Street and travelled to many places on Old Great Eastern main lines. He stopped in Stratford until one day he was told he would have to find his own accommodation after staying in the railway hostels. This was non-starter as flats in London were very expensive.

Bob then transferred back up to Burnley and covered a range of jobs including.

Then finally he got the chance to become a full time booking boy (trainee signalman) which progressed into a full time role working around the Burnley area until the modern signalling came to East Lancashire.

A transfer as a signalman to Skipton Station South was the next move, then being loaned to the Keighley area, and then finally back to Skipton. However, in 1982 Bob resigned thinking that the Settle to Carlisle line was to shut and started his own wholesale and retail dairy business based out of Trawden with his wife Jane.

The business developed into a bigger concern and they eventually sold up and Bob worked for Norweb and then United Utilities until taking early retirement aged 50.

He then felt the pull of the railway again and applied for a signalman job at Hellifield South Junction in 2002. He stayed there until finally retiring for good this week aged 69.

He says he will miss his workmates and considers himself fortunate to have been in work all this life and to have been able to do a job he enjoyed.

He says he plans to spend time with his family during retirement.