Nicholas Mattin always wanted to be a train driver and follow in his father's, his grandfather's and his great-grandfather's footsteps before him.

Eastern Daily Press: Nicholas Martin who is retiring after 44-years on the railways - and is the fourth generation in his family to work on Norfolk's railway. Nicholas and family photo from 1966 Pictures: Brittany WoodmanNicholas Martin who is retiring after 44-years on the railways - and is the fourth generation in his family to work on Norfolk's railway. Nicholas and family photo from 1966 Pictures: Brittany Woodman (Image: Archant)

He achieved his ambition in 1982 but now after 44 years on Norfolk's railways the 61-year-old is about to drive his last train.

Mr Mattin, from Thorpe End, was 16 when he left Sprowston High School to become a messenger boy at Norwich Station.

He said: "It's in my blood. I always wanted to work on the railways.

"After about six months [of being a messenger boy] I became a box boy, recording the trains coming in and out of Norwich in a big book."

Eastern Daily Press: Nicholas Martin who is retiring after 44-years on the railways - and is the fourth generation in his family to work on Norfolk's railway. Nicholas and family photo from 1966 Pictures: Brittany WoodmanNicholas Martin who is retiring after 44-years on the railways - and is the fourth generation in his family to work on Norfolk's railway. Nicholas and family photo from 1966 Pictures: Brittany Woodman (Image: Archant)

After a brief period as a guard, a job as a driver's assistant came up, an opportunity Mr Mattin jumped at.

He said: "I always wanted to be a driver like my father and his father and I just went for it... there were a lot of father and sons working [at the station] when I started - my Dad was quite proud at that point.

"Everybody got on with everybody on the railways, it was a friendly station and there was always someone to help you out."

By the early 1980s, Mr Mattin was picking up occasional shifts as a train driver, in 1984 he became a fully fledged driver and transferred to Ipswich for three years before returning to Norwich where he stayed.

Eastern Daily Press: Nicholas Martin who is retiring after 44-years on the railways - and is the fourth generation in his family to work on Norfolk's railway. Nicholas and family photo from 1966 Pictures: Brittany WoodmanNicholas Martin who is retiring after 44-years on the railways - and is the fourth generation in his family to work on Norfolk's railway. Nicholas and family photo from 1966 Pictures: Brittany Woodman (Image: Archant)

Looking forward to his retirement, Mr Mattin said he wouldn't miss the early starts or late shift finishes but would miss the work itself.

He said he had seen a lot of changes over the years, from the electrification of the railways to more women working on the trains and even the smell of the station.

He said: "Years ago you could smell the diesel in the air and you knew you were at the station and that's changed - I miss that.

"When I first started there were no women but now there are women guards and drivers, that's equality for you, they can do the job just as well as I can. In the old days it was a man's world."

Mr Mattin will retire on January 16.