A LONG-SERVING museum volunteer has received a lifetime achievement award at a national awards scheme for railway workers.

Gordon Reed began his railway career in 1948 at the age of just 16 as an apprentice boilersmith, but after his retirement went on to give 25 years of devoted service to the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York.

Sixty-six years after he first stepped into the railway industry, he has received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Railstaff Awards held in Coventry.

Over the 27 years he was been a part of the NRM Gordon has helped restore some of its most famous exhibits - including the Rocket, Mallard, Duchess of Hamilton, and Green Arrow.

And in 2012 Gordon was responsible for saving the City of Truro - the first British locomotive to hit 100mph. It had developed boiler leaks, and museum bosses considered retiring it early but Gordon single-handedly repairing the firebox - meaning the locomotive could delight visitors for another two years.

His dedication and passion has already led him to be honoured with Lifetime Membership of the Permanent Way Institute and made a Life Member of the Welding Institute, but an NRM spokesman said his "decades of matchless service" mean he deserves this Lifetime Achievement Award.