Richard Gostling interviewed by Frank Paterson

Oral history interview with Richard Gostling, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the National Railway Museum, York on 3 March 2020. Duration: 52 min. 25 sec. Early career; joined British Rail (BR) Research 1969; Vampire vehicle dynamics software; pantograph design; stoneblower; BR Research becomes a profit centre; relationships; staff uncertainty over privatisation; management buyout (MBO) bid; financing; Peter Watson; Managing Director AEA Technology; bid unsuccessful; contrast with Railtrack; relationships; research offers; culture change; Technical Director Railway Industries Association (RIA); Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMECHE) changed role; fragmentation of BR; reflections on privatisation; quality staff

One of over 150 oral history recordings made as part of the Britain’s Railways All Change (BRAC) archive project. BRAC was set-up to cover gaps in documenting the railway privatisation process in the United Kingdom, between 1994 and 1997, when the government-owned British Rail was dismantled into over 100 privately-owned companies. The interviews capture the recollections of people involved in the planning and implementation of the privatisation process, the management of change and running the railway during privatisation.