Doug's been working on railroad, all the live-long day

Doug Smith, with certificate, is surrounded by family during the acknowledgement of 50 years on the railroads.

On average, people have 11 job changes throughout their working lifetime. Not so Doug Smith.

Mr Smith has just celebrated 50 years on the railroads - and isn't finished yet.

You could say he has trains running in his blood. His father was a rail guard and Mr Smith followed him into the world of trains on December 18, 1963.

"I was fresh out of high school when I started as a clerical cadet in Tauranga ... I wanted to be a train driver but was talked out of it by my father."

Mr Smith spent four years as a cadet, being seconded to Waihi, Katikati and Te Puke stations. Another secondment was to Kawerau. He wasn't taken with "the raw, frontier-like feel of the young town".

He moved to Rotorua in 1967, transferred to Tamaki in 1975, but was back in Rotorua in 1977 when the position was re-graded. Mr Smith stayed there until 1987, then returned to Kawerau, where he remains.

"Over the 50 years, New Zealand Rail has had many owners and companies that have tried to run the rail and some have been more successful than others," he said.

Kawerau's KiwiRail yard is vital to the East Coast's forestry operation and Mr Smith has been terminal manager in charge of the multimillion-dollar operation since 1987. He is also in charge of the Murupara and Kinleith terminals.

He has 16 Kawerau yard staff under him.

As well, his son, Deane, works at Sulphur Point on the rail and is a remote-control operator with 18 years behind him.

"My other son, Michael, did two years on the rail at Kawerau as an accounts clerk before he went on to university and is now a head of a department at Aquinas College in Tauranga."

Mr Smith's motto has always been "if you treat your staff as you would also liked to be treated, then you get them to work for you and not against you".

"I have met many wonderful people ... the beauty of such a long service is that it gives you the opportunity to meet these people.

"I have seen many a good railway man and woman made redundant through no fault of their own. It's just a sign of the times and restructures that have gone on in my 50 years of service.

"I also know we would not have survived without the restructures and reduction of staff throughout the years and it is just a matter of economics and good business management."

Mr Smith said that when he finally retired he would be quite satisfied with the part he had played in a great company.