Two mechanical engineering trainees have joined North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s (NYMR) apprenticeship programme and will get to work on restoring and maintaining its heritage diesel locomotive fleet.
Eighteen year-old Peter Dawson and Josh Smith will assist NYMR’s engineers with the upkeep of the heritage diesel fleet, carrying out work on its brake system, electrical circuits and power unit.
Peter was selected from Middlesbrough-based TTE and Josh joined NYMR after the organisation selected him directly.
Railway enthusiast, Peter has been a volunteer at NYMR for a number of years before securing his apprenticeship, which proved to be a key factor during the selection process.
Josh on the other hand had previously secured an apprenticeship with a North East initiative, but following its closure was without a sponsor until NYMR stepped in to help. He will attend Redcar & Cleveland College on a day release basis to supplement his practical learning. Both apprentices will be assessed on-site by TTE to check progress against the apprenticeship framework.
Before joining NYMR’s workforce,
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a registered charity that exists to bring the experience and excitement of past rail travel to today’s generation – many of those running the railway are volunteers.
Steve Grant, managing director at TTE, said: “North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a charity steeped in history and we are extremely proud to be support two young trainees that will be valuable additions to its team. It’s important that the work carried out on its locomotive is of the highest standard and is testament to the quality of our training.”
Ian Foot, T & RS Engineer at NYMR, said: “Our apprenticeship programme is central to our efforts of ensuring we have talented and passionate engineers in place to maintain our locomotives, once the senior members of the team have retired. We have a hopeful expectation that all of our apprentices make the grade and move on to become fully-fledged engineers with us in the future.”
