“I’m proud to be the fifth generation of my family working on this iconic route.”

As the modern railway celebrated its 200^th anniversary last month Avanti West Coast’s Regional Route Support, Darren Lovett, reflects on his family’s five generations who are ingrained into the history of the West Coast Main Line.

7 October 2025

The railway has always been in my blood and the inspiration for me came from both my grandfathers. Now I’m proud to be the fifth generation of my family working on this iconic route which holds so many good memories for me and the Lovett name.

I was born and raised in Bletchley, near Milton Keynes, a town that is synonymous with the rich railway history of the West Coast Main Line. It’s why my grandfathers and the generations above them got into the industry as it was the best option for employment in the town during those times – and I’m certainly grateful, as I love that what I do.

My journey began in the post room at Euston Station in 2002, which saw many years of organising uniform roll outs, sorting the post and taking in deliveries.

I then started to deal a lot more with the on-board staff and drivers, ensuring that the right communications and rosters are visible at their booking-on points. The thing about this job is the people. I have enjoyed, and still do, getting to know all my colleagues, whilst trying to help out with all queries when I can.

When I started, I had the unique opportunity for a while to work in the same company as my dad, Dennis (right), who taught me a lot. He was the Deputy Director for Corporate Affairs in the 2000s, and heavily involved in launching the Pendolino and Voyager fleets as well as the wider West Coast Route Modernisation. These launches gave me the fondest memory from my career so far, where I was dressed up in a racecar driver outfit and waving a checkered flag to welcome in the first ever Pendolino train. And it is fantastic to see the fleet still going so strong and being regarded as iconic today.

My dad’s railway story, like me, began at Euston. He started in Travel Centre, before taking eight years out from rail to work as a magazine journalist and then rejoining in 1978 as an audio-visual technician at the British Rail Management Training Centre at The Grove, Watford. After roles in advertising for the Southern Region and Network South East’s Public Affairs Department, he rejoined the West Coast route, in 1999, in his Deputy Director role.

Both my grandfathers, as mentioned, were my main inspirations. Ron Lovett (left) was a Bletchley train driver having worked his up within the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). I remember him regaling stories of his time working on every type of train allocated to Bletchley depot throughout his illustrious 50-year-career. He sadly died in 2002 just before I joined the railway.

My other grandfather, Richard Prue (right), joined the railway as a clerk at Castlethorpe station which was located near Milton Keynes. I love hearing how he met my grandmother at Bletchley station not long after the Second World War. He had become a relief station master in the area, and she worked in the station master’s office. They moved to a railway cottage adjacent to Claydon station on the Bletchley to Oxford line where my mother, Jenny, was born. Promotion to Station Master at Woburn Sands followed and it was here that my aunt was born in the station house. In the late 1960s, he began our family affinity with London Euston, transferring to the station to work in the Travel Centre.

I sadly never got to meet my great-grandfather, Albert Lovett, who joined the London & Northwestern Railway in 1901 at the age of 19 as a relief signalman. During the Second World War he served as a Traffic Controller in the LMS wartime control which was located in an underground bunker beneath Bletchley Station, which was incredible to read about when tracing back our family tree. I was also able to learn about Albert’s dad, my great-great grandfather – Frederick Lovett. We know that he was born in 1841 on the Buckinghamshire border in the hamlet of Drayton Beauchamp, and eventually moved to Bletchley and worked for the London & Northwestern Railway.

Being able to learn about my family’s rich railway history has been a great moment of reflection for me and I’m grateful for being able to share our story. Hearing their tales and walking in my ancestors’ footsteps have been moments of inspiration for me. I find this industry so rewarding and I encourage those seeking a career in rail to go for it. There are so many roles available and plenty of opportunities for development – and I’m so pleased to be where I am, and I truly love what I do.

Main Image - Darren Lovett alongside his father Dennis Lovett.