Moment retiring train driver sobs after final journey of 52 year career

A train driver who spent 52 years working on the railways burst into tears as friends and family greeted him on the platform at Manchester Piccadilly following his last shift.

Joe Crean, from Derbyshire, retired last week after a career that lasted more than half a century.

He started on the railways in 1971 as a steward in the dining car for British Rail, before becoming a fully-fledged qualified driver in June 1980.

Crean then joined the TransPennine Express in 2011, based at Manchester Piccadilly, and went on to spend several years as a driver instructor helping to train the next generation of drivers.

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