Gordon Hodgson Man & Machine as one .

Two words that struck a cord with any Lineside enthusiast are "Gordon's Driving " as you knew that you would be in for something special from whatever loco he would be driving that day as Gordon was renowned for having the regulator up in the roof of the loco cab . Gordon started work at Carlisle Canal shed in the early 1960s, later moving on to Kingmoor steam shed. Following retirement from E.W.S. the railway soon beckoned him to return - to West Coast Railway Company, from which he has now finally retired after well over 50 years of railway service, his final driving turn being the York-Carlisle 'Hadrian' on July 2nd.This video shows plenty of footage of Gordon at his best driving various loco's over Shap, the Settle & Carlisle and Beattock .One clip that I thought summed Gordon up was his effort to nurse a poorly 45231 into the loop at Shap summit after the engine suffered mechanical failure shortly after Tebay .