MICK CLARKE IS ONE OF NORTHERN'S LONGEST-SERVING EMPLOYEES

A HULL man who has worked on the railway for 60 years said time has “flown by” and he has “never thought about doing anything else”.

- By DEBORAH HALL

Mick Clarke is one of Northern's longest-serving employees and he is not planning to retire anytime soon.

The 76-year-old describes himself as “a railway eccentric” and said he became fascinated with trains when he was a child, watching them for hours during family holidays in Germany.

After leaving school at 16, he got a job as a messenger at the British Rail freight yard in Hull in November 1965.

He was given a thick jacket and a bicycle, before being sent off to ride around the city, delivering messages and invoices to coal offices and shipping companies.

In the early 1970s, he decided it was time for a change and moved into an office at Hull station.

He spent his days sorting parcels that arrived by train and dealing with lost property, before he got another job working as a porter, helping 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.