Douglas Downie Interviewed by Christopher Mew

Interview with Douglas Downie conducted by Christopher Mew on the 5th of August 2021 in Twickenham. Duration 32 min. 30 sec. This interview was conducted in a group with Allan Galley and Paul Smart. Please see corresponding interviews. Early career; British Rail involvement in separation of businesses under organisation for Quality; freightliner early candidate for privatisation; Successful bid; assessment of revenue and identifying costs; Basford hall yard, centre for operations; buying new locomotives; West Coast modernisation; haulage of construction materials; British Rail lacked flexibility; partnership in financing with Rolling Stock Companies (ROSCO) backing helpful; new opportunities in coal business; organisation became part of distribution chain with large container and shipping companies; ROSCOs understanding on cooperation; how privatisation benefitted Freightliner; staff relationships; Solutions to problems with Train Operating Companies.

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.