Northern Trains has bid farewell to one of its longest-serving employees. Geoff Price, 67, ended his career last week as conductor team manager at Blackpool North, drawing a line under 48 years of continuous service that chart the evolution of UK rail operations since the British Rail era.
Price joined British Rail in July 1976 at Enfield Road Carriage Sidings, Blackpool, following a short spell in local manufacturing. Spurred by family connections—his uncle Tony Bretherton was a Blackpool North driver—Price soon advanced from cleaning duties to shunting, spending 12 years marrying up coaching stock within station limits and sidings.
With the arrival of automatic-coupled diesel units in the late 1980s, Price anticipated the diminishing demand for traditional shunters. He secured a move in 1990 to station chargeman at Blackpool North, overseeing punctual departures and adopting public-facing responsibilities. Promotion to station supervisor in 1992 saw him lead a team that secured the Best Kept Station award for three consecutive years.
Subsequent roles broadened his operational insight. At Manchester Piccadilly, Price became a revenue protection inspector, honing fraud-detection skills that later informed his 1997 return to Blackpool North as trains inspector. The post was re-styled trains manager in 1999 and eventually conductor team manager—a position he retained until retirement.
Reflecting on his career, Price credited the railway for both professional development and personal fulfilment: “Everything I’ve achieved has come through the railway,” he remarked. “Helping recruits grow into accomplished conductors has been one of the job’s greatest rewards.”
Northern, the UK’s second-largest train operator, now runs 2,500 daily services to more than 500 stations across northern England. Although Price departs to spend time with his wife Patricia and their Labrador, Roxy, his influence endures in the staff he mentored and the operational standards he championed at Blackpool North.
