Two colleagues who worked together in the Control department at Avanti West Coast have retired after a combined 78 years of railway service.

Duty Control Manager, Dave Leng, retired after a 40-year railway career and his colleague Rich Green retired on the same day after 34 years of service, and after working together for over 20 years.

Dave Leng joined British Rail in September 1979 as a Train Recorder at Saltleys signal box in Birmingham, earning £26.50 weekly.

In 1981 he started training to be a driver at Saltley depot, passing out in April 1986 and moving to a driving role at Birkenhead.

He progressed to a train crew supervisor role in London, before rejoining the west coast route as a Performance Controller at Crewe before his final post in the Control Team in Birmingham.

Rich and Dave were behind the initiative to name one of Avanti West Coast’s Pendolino trains after a colleague who lost his battle with cancer.

As several of their Control Team colleagues are from Stoke, Pendolino No. 390129, which carries the name City of Stoke-on-Trent, was nicknamed the ‘Pride of the Fleet’.

The nickname stuck, and Brett Hobson, who lived not far away in Crewe, was happy to play along with it.

During his last few months, Brett joked it would be funny if the train carried his name, which proved ironic when Brett’s name was proudly displayed on the cab ends of his favourite train as a fitting tribute to “a friend and a really good person”, which was made possible by his railway family.

Dave said: “I’ve loved my time on the railway and been really fortunate to meet so many good people, lots of whom I know regard as friends.

“No day was ever the same, with challenges presented on a daily basis. But that sense of pride you got, when heading home, knowing you have helped customers and colleagues, was worth all the hard times.”

Rich Green was 16 when he joined the Railway Training Scheme in 1990. After completing his training he moved to the Traffic Office in Crewe before returning to his hometown Stoke-on-Trent, working on the platforms to gain experience in a station environment.

His understanding of operations, and dealing with customers proved invaluable when he moved to the Control Team in 2001, overseeing the day-to-day running of the West Coast route.

Commenting ahead of his retirement, Rich Green said: “I look back with great fondness on the last 34 years. Time really has flown. Whilst the industry has changed beyond recognition, with greater use of technology, the consistent has been the importance of the railway family. And I’m proud to say I am, and will always be, a railwayman.”

Paying tribute to the pair, Ashley McKenna, Head of Train Service Delivery at Avanti West Coast said: “The railway is all about its people. And in Dave and Rich, we have two of the best. Whilst we are sad to see them go, everyone at Avanti West Coast thanks them for their wonderful support and commitment over the years. We wish them both a happy retirement and good luck for the next exciting chapter in their journey.”