A World in Miniature: LNER Train Driver Swaps the East Coast Main Line for a Ride Around the Park
An LNER train driver with more than forty years of experience has swapped sitting at the controls of a 125mph passenger train for something a little more leisurely – a miniature version of the train he usually drives, limited to 6mph.
Nigel Turner has been a train driver since July 1983 when he joined the railway as a Driver’s Assistant. In March 2002, he moved to drive high-speed passenger trains on the East Coast Main Line where he has been ever since. He has driven the renowned Class 43 HSTs, modern-day Azuma trains, but his main love is driving the Class 91 InterCity 225 trains.
To celebrate 225 Day, which LNER marked for the first time on 22 May 2025, Nigel visited Manor Park Miniature Railway in Glossop, to try his hand at driving their small-scale Class 91, with a top speed of just 6mph – 119mph slower than what he is used to.
Through his career, Nigel has clocked up millions of driving miles, but on the one-mile loop of the Manor Park Miniature Railway, he explained that it wasn’t all plain-sailing.
Nigel said: “I think it is easier to drive a full-size Class 91! While there are similarities, such as maintaining awareness of your surroundings, you feel the gradients and the bends a lot more than you do on a high-speed train, and it is a bit trickier to control.
“The park is lovely to drive through, but I was constantly on alert, watching out for dogs chasing after their ball, children running around, and even the squirrels that wanted to try and say ‘hello!’ – not necessarily things you regularly see on the East Coast Main Line.”
Explaining how his love for railways began, Nigel said: “My father was interested in the railways and when I was four years old, he took me to Liverpool Street station in London. There was a Class 37 in the station, and the driver invited me into the cab. From that, all I wanted to do was become a train driver.”
With years of experience, Nigel now supports the driver training programme at LNER. But on this occasion, it was his turn to be in the classroom, with Caleb Lovegrove, General Manager at the miniature railway, showing him the ropes.
Caleb said: “It was great to be able to have a real-life train driver in the hot seat of our miniature Class 91. Nigel’s experience stood him in good stead but there was still lots for him to learn to be able to drive round the Manor Park railway without issue, but he did a great job. He even picked some passengers up along the way, giving them a smooth and enjoyable ride around the park."
For Nigel, it was like rolling back the clock after spending some of his younger years driving miniature trains.
He said: “I did a bit of miniature train driving back in day when I was around 20 years old at a local park in South London. It was a bit like going back to my youth again and I enjoyed every moment.”
Despite his vast experience on the tracks, Nigel has no plans to retire just yet. But will he go back to driving miniature trains when the time comes?
Nigel said: “There’s a miniature railway in my hometown of Grantham that one of my colleagues is involved in, and he keeps asking me to help at weekends, which I’m considering for when I retire.
“I still think I’ve got a bit of life in me yet on the big railway, so we’ll see. But I know the railway will never leave me, and if it’s not riding on miniature railways, I’m sure you’ll find me at the controls of a model railway instead!”