06:45: Alarm goes off. I ignore it and try to go back to sleep.
06:50: Alarm goes off again. I wonder why I set it so early when I didn't get to bed until half past midnight.
07:05: Eventually manage to drag myself out of bed. Thankfully I've spent the night in a caravan at the Welsh Highland Railway's works in Porthmadog, so I don't have far to go to work. In fact the Engine Shed is closer than my car!
07:25: Am I awake yet? Still not completely sure as I unlock the engine shed. Our steam engine today is Gelert a dark blue tank engine. She originally worked in South Africa, but was brought back here where we restored her. (It's a railway tradition that all steam engines are called "she", though this does seem odd for our flagship engine, which is called Russell.)
07:40: Driver arrives. My colleague today is Cliff Jones from Tremadog. Cliff has been driving steam engines here almost as long as the railway has been open. He's a retired headteacher who is so good at keeping children entertained we call him Jones the Steam after the engine driver in the children's TV series Ivor the Engine.
08:00: Pull the engine out of the shed and light the fire. It takes about two and a half hours to get a steam engine going. Before we can get going, we have to build the fire up so it's hot enough, and raise enough steam pressure to move the loco. It's a bit like a large pressure cooker, but a good deal hotter and a good deal more pressure.
10:15: Ready! We steam off out of the shed and back down onto the carriages. Part of my job is coupling the loco to the train, so I'll be up and down from the cab something like 20 times in the next few hours. Once we've tested the brakes, we can head onto the main line.
10:30: First train isn't for 15 minutes, so there's just about time for a cup of tea and some toast before it's time to leave. There's also time for a quick word with my mother, Lynn, who runs the ticket office. She's not the only one of my family who works here - my brother is a guard, and my dad is a qualified steam driver. I've been trying to get my girlfriend to join me on the footplate, but so far she's not convinced by the idea.
10:40: Time for the first train. We take people part way up the line to our engine sheds, where they get a chance to look around and the children can climb on the engines we're not using today. Then we continue up the line to our terminus, Pen-y-Mount, just under a mile from Porthmadog.
Next year we are hoping to open the extension we are building at the moment. I'm hoping to qualify as a driver by then. You have to be at least 21 to drive steam engines, and since I'm only 22, that would make me one of the youngest drivers on the railway.
12:15: We're back at Porthmadog. We have another four trains this afternoon, but first, it's time for lunch. Cliff and I take it in turns to go to the café and eat, as we can't leave the steam locomotive by herself - she needs constant attention.
15:15: Fill up with water. The early start is catching up with me now, and I'm starting to wish I'd gone to bed earlier last night!
17:00: The last train pulls back into Porthmadog station. It's been a good day. The Welsh Highland is quite a friendly railway, and many of us engine crews enjoy talking to the passengers and explaining to them what we're doing. Many of the children who come and visit have never seen a steam engine before except in Thomas the Tank Engine books, and some are surprised by how big it is, and how loud the whistle is!
17:30: Shunt the carriages back into the shed. That isn't the end of the day for me and Cliff though. We still have to rake out the fire, clear all the ash out of the ashpan, and fill up with coal for the next day. Only then can we put Gelert back into the shed.
18:15: Now there's the small matter of getting cleaned up. It's only when you look at yourself in the washroom mirror that you realise just how dirty you get after a day shovelling coal on a hot, oily steam engine.
Why do I do it? It's fun. I've always liked trains, but I also get to work with some great people, and it's so completely different from my day job.
Next day - 06:45: Wake up. Realise I don't need a steam engine to go to work today. Go back to sleep.
