SEVERN Valley Railway’s latest recruit is not only following in her family’s footsteps but making history by becoming SVR’s first female apprentice.

Emma Harrison, 17, is one of five new apprentices to enrol in the railway’s Heritage Skills Training Academy fulfilling a lifetime ambition of working on a heritage railway.

Her love of the railway was instilled in her by her father and late grandfather, who passed away in July this year, as family holidays regularly included trips to various heritage railways.

Emma, from Wolverhampton, said: “It was normal that a family holiday would include at least one trip on a railway and it’s still true today that we always manage to find a railway to go on, even when abroad.

“A great saying in our family is ‘a holiday is never a holiday without a railway in it’, which developed my love for railways and steam engines, and got me involved in heritage engineering.”

Joining her in the academy this year are Alan Brookes, a 19-year old from Stourbridge, 20-year-old Tom Hubble from Birmingham, Dean Parkin, 17, from Launceston in Cornwall, and 20-year-old Ryan Parsons, from Wimborne in Dorset.

All five new trainees beat off competition from applicants based all over the country and abroad, but the fact that Emma’s the first and only female in the academy has not been lost on her.

She said: “If I’m honest, I wasn’t sure I would get the apprenticeship but I hoped they would realise that they needed a female in the mix.

“It’s a daunting thought that I’m the first female apprentice with the SVR, but it’s a learning curve for both me and the railway.”

The academy scheme has been working with three apprentices since September 2013 in the build up to its official launch in September of this year.

Now the new recruits are set to follow in their footsteps, learning the skills associated with keeping a steam railway up and running.

Richard Thurlow, academy co-ordinator, said: “Serving the dual aim of securing the future of the railway and offering training and employment to young people has seen the academy become widely accepted and acclaimed throughout the railway by staff, volunteers and visitors alike."