Mark proud to have made and maintained the Class 365s

Hornsey Engineering Technician Mark Pountain, has accompanied the Class 365 fleet along its entire journey from the day he helped build the trains to its last run out of King’s Cross on Friday (14 May).

An apprentice-trained vehicle body builder working at the former British Rail Engineering York Carriage Works in Holgate Road, Mark came to Hornsey in 1996 as product support, working with a warranty team, to maintain and improve the trains.

In 2008 he and the remaining team went in-house for the rail operator, providing technical backup to the exam, technical and procurement departments and right up until the last day he was still on hand to provide expertise.

The Class 365 regularly transported the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to King’s Lynn along with a member of the team, ready on hand to fix any problems.

One of the team recalls encountering Prince Phillip at King’s Lynn. The First Class doors needed attention (“the usual sensors out of alignment”) and he was still fixing them while he arrived. “He asked what I was doing and I squeaked a response about fixing doors and collecting my tools!”

Mark says he feels he represents everyone who was involved in the Class 365 project, “brilliant” people who still work at Hornsey and who joined in the early days. “On that last trip out of King’s Cross on Friday I felt proud because I’d completed the journey of the 365s, which was the last train out of York - I’d done my bit.”

The 60-year-old, who will this August have worked 44 years on the railway, is now passing his skills on to apprentices at Hornsey, “the next generation,” he says. “Our apprentices are really smart and use a laptop like I use my spanners!”

“It’s a good way to think about bringing my career to a close. There’re a few people that were involved in that project over the years and it was a fantastic journey. There were a few ups and downs, technical issues. Now it’s time to hand over to the youngsters.”

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