Carlisle worker retires after more than 35 years on the railway

Margaret Jones, route support at Avanti West Coast, helped colleagues with rosters, arranging essential equipment, as well as general administrative duties for the last time last month.

She covered teams in Runcorn for six years.

Preston station, where Margaret Jones spent a lot of her railway career, displays a congratulatory message on Margaret's last working day (Image: Supplied)Retirement signals the end of Margaret’s family’s connection to the railway – her dad worked in the Booking Office at Carlisle after leaving the Army, her mum held various clerical roles within track maintenance and payroll at Carlisle before working onboard trains and retiring 12 years ago.

Earlier generations of Margaret’s family also worked on the railway – her great grandad drove steam trains between Carlisle and Glasgow, and his son also became a driver in Carlisle.

With an aspiration to follow in her mother’s footsteps and work in an office, Margaret applied for a role in the typing pool based at Carlisle station. She started the temporary position on December 8, 1986 and was responsible for typing internal memos, external letters, and photocopying.

In November 1989, at the age of 21, Margaret was offered a permanent position as a typist.

Avanti West Coast colleagues congratulate Margaret Jones on her 37 years service on the railway (Image: Supplied)Margaret became clerical support in April 1996 – commuting by train to Preston station where the role was based.

She covered the Anglo Scot route (London to Scotland) supporting station and onboard colleagues between Warrington and Glasgow/Edinburgh. Her remit also covered teams at Runcorn and Liverpool for six years.

Margaret’s enjoyment of helping people is what kept her in this same role for 28 years. While the job title changed, and the station and depots she looked after varied every few years, her responsibilities remained the same – ensuring colleagues at stations and onboard, as well as their managers were supported with ordering equipment, uniforms, and general admin.

Her efforts behind the scenes supported colleagues to keep the day-to-day running of the stations and onboard service on track.

Rail Staff ID card of Margaret Jones from 2003 (Image: Supplied)Most of Margaret’s working life was spent in Preston before moving back to Carlisle station in 2022. She said: “Carlisle is close to my heart – it’s where I live and the place where my Mam and Dad were based during their railway careers. It has been great to have started my career here, as well as finish it.”

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Reflecting on her time on the railway, Margaret said: “I’ve been fortunate to have enjoyed my job and blessed to have worked with lovely people.  

“I’m proud to have worked in the same place as my family – following in their footsteps and contributing towards our decades of service on the west coast. The railway is my extended family and I’ll remain in touch with them. I’m excited for a new challenge with retirement but I’m sad to be leaving friends and colleagues who I’ve known for a long time.”