I wanted to be a train driver which would of been towards the end of steam, I did go to Swindon for a interview,wearing a new suit and white shirt, to gain access to the offices meant a walk through the yards and by the time I arrived at the correct office for the interview my white shirt was covered in coal dust.
The chap explained the process of becoming a driver,with time spent cleaning loco's, then move onto lubricating all the moving parts,after a while if there was a vacancy be promoted to fireman,first working in the depot,then on goods trains and after a while onto the main line,after further training get promoted to driver, again starting in the depot shunting works loco's, then goods traffic and in time a main line driver,at the end of the interview I was so excited as in my mind I was already at the controls of the Flying Scotsman steaming north, I asked the question how long would all the training etc take before I would be a main line driver, I was looking at 2-3 years maybe, when the chap said it will be 12-15 years, I decided I could not wait that long to earn a decent salary and took a job offer the following week as a trainee electrician