Retired 89 year old East Coast Main Line driver Reg Turver returned to the footplate on 1st December as part of the ceremony to name East Coast 91102 ‘City of York’ at the station.
Reg, who in 1983, drove the inaugural journey of the second train to have the name bestowed upon it, was also presented with a replica nameplate before he travelled in the cab from York to London King’s Cross.
Born in 1922, Reg was just 2 when the first locomotive to carry the name emerged from Darlington works.
Ironically, following its withdrawal in 1937, 2402 ‘City of York’ became the first LNER built locomotive to be scrapped.
Just before climbing onto the footplate Reg told RailStaff:
“I keep a journal for my grandchildren and I will be writing this up for them.”
As the train departed York, a clearly happy Reg waved to all the well wishers, including former colleagues, who had gathered on the platform to see him.
