Hughes was apprentice at Crewe under F.W. Webb, and in 1887 he moved to the new LYR works at Horwich as a fitter and erector. In 1888 he took charge of the Testing Shop there, and by 1894 he was in charge of the Horwich gas works and lighting system. In the following year he became Chief Assistant in the Carriage & Wagon Department at Newton Heath, and returned to Horwich in 1899 as Works Manager and Principal Assistant to the CME. He succeeded H.A. Hoy as CME from 12 March 1904. On 1 January 1922, with the amalgamation of the LYR and LNWR, Hughes became CME of the greater LNWR, and in 1923 he became CME of the LMS, retaining his headquarters at Horwich. He retired in September 1925 afterwhich he lived in Cromer and then Stamford, Lincolnshire.