For Mick Clarke, the railway isn’t just a job—it’s a calling. After six decades on the tracks, the 76-year-old Northern employee says time has “flown by” and admits he has “never thought about doing anything else.”
Based in Hull, Mick is one of Northern’s longest-serving team members, and retirement isn’t on his radar. Describing himself as “a railway eccentric,” Mick’s passion began in childhood, watching trains for hours during family holidays in Germany.
His career started in November 1965 when, at just 16, he joined British Rail as a messenger at the Hull freight yard. Armed with a thick jacket and a bicycle, Mick spent his days cycling around the city delivering messages and invoices to coal offices and shipping companies.
By the early 1970s, Mick moved into an office role at Hull station, sorting parcels and handling lost property before becoming a porter, assisting passengers with their luggage.
“As long as I was on the railway, I was happy.”
"But I was always looking at the British Rail vacancy list to see what jobs were going,” he said.
One listing changed everything: a signalman position. Mick completed six weeks of training and went on to spend over a decade at three East Yorkshire signal boxes—Dutch River, Crabley Creek, and Beverly Park.
“I loved that job,” he said. “Out in the open country, sat watching the seasons go by.
“I found it fascinating, figuring out how the signalling system worked to keep the trains running. It’s like being part of a big jigsaw.
“Even now, if someone offered me a chance to go back to the signal box, I wouldn’t hesitate, I would just go.”
When signalling was modernised and Beverly Park closed, Mick moved to Arram station for three years, selling tickets and helping customers. Then came another change: conductor.
“I enjoyed it,” he said. “It was like that programme The Titfield Thunderbolt, with all these local village stations where you knew everyone and the gossip travelled by train.
“I was proud to do my bit. When trains were cancelled or delayed and I could help passengers out and put a smile on their face, I would go home thinking I’d achieved something.”
After 26 years as a conductor, Mick became a revenue protection officer six years ago—a role he still enjoys. Away from work, his passion for rail runs deep: over 1,000 railway books, a two-room model railway connected by a tunnel, and even a garden signal box fitted with original British Rail levers from a box near Filey.
“I once met a sailor who told me he got cravings to go to sea because it was in his blood. That’s how I feel about the railway,” Mick said. “I’ve never thought about doing anything else.
“People say to me 60 years is a long time, but it’s flown by. I love it and I’m going to keep ploughing on.”
Image credit: Northern
