Corporate Archive | Science Museum Group Collection

Oral history interview with Glynn Waite conducted and recorded by Bob Gwynne on 22 September 2017 at the National Railway Museum. Duration: 2 hours 9 minutes 25 seconds. [Start of interview, 00:00:00] Joining British Rail 1960, Trains Office Derby, diagramming, train staff planning, special trains; [00:04:30] area covered, freight timetable, Derby to Barnt Green, Hornsbridge at Chesterfield; Birmingham, freight traffic analysis, wagon surveys; changes, introduction of diesels working ‘out and home’; [00:09:00] line occupation surveys; diagramming journeys and staff; [00:10:30] different jobs before being involved with TOPS; TOPS at Cardiff, start with Ebbw Vale cutover, TOPS in South Wales; [00:16:43] problem with Cardiff Tidal/East Maws works; use of Ventek terminals, issues, wagon surveys, [00:20:49] missing wagons, ‘Cripple roads’, loading wagon data into TOPS; [00:24:32] TOPS survey staff, cutover process, working hours; [00:29:25] impact of TOPS on Area Managers, attempts at economies, TOPS helping reduce amount of wagons and introduce air braked wagons; [00:35:26] TOPS and locomotive maintenance on Western Region; [00:42:39]economies, elimination of consignment notes, survey, traffic flow introduction of numbers for clients, economies on clerks and paper; [00:47:47] goods offices rationalisation, reduction in sidings, new methods of working enabling savings; [00:49:30] job at Speedlink 1984-1990; [00:50:21] TOPS moving into privatisation, non geographic allocation of reporting offices; [00:54:40] planning redundancy but kept on to work out how to affect the move away from geographic location; [00:57:36] TOPS 2000 introduction, link with privatisation; division within privatised freight network, change to Windows operating system; [01:02:23] TOPS 2000 implementation, TOPS offices for BR mainline; TOPS responsibility area (TRA), capacity limits and rationalisation, Worcester TOPS office closure, further rationalisation; [01:07:08] reason for TOPS office locations, marshalling yards, reasons for rationalisation and TOPS staff redeployment; [01:11:47] TOPS clerks, recruitment and grades; [01:14:40] Freightliner, coal/cement, links to TOPS; difference between TRUST and TOPS; [01:17:01] TRUST and LARTA, geolocated train departures; how to put in a new location [01:21:50] locations for companies; wagon load, marshalling yards, train loads rather than individual wagons; [01:25:07] merry-go-round system (MGR), automation, including wagon numbers and weights, MGR wagons kept in trains; Toton, only two roads on down-side, wagon weight limitation at some collieries, MGR wagons revolution; [01:30:17] TOPS 2000, more people understand the system, area managers and shunters can input TOPS; TOPS direct (Eric Straw), Wolverhampton Steel Terminal, training on using TOPS, including Masboro Control; [01:35:10] EWS move; cut over Swansea Borough, Newport 1974, returned 20 years later to cutover to shunters; removal of Rowntrees traffic, closure of Dringhouses yard, closing yards, Parkeston; reflection on railways during time of career, sectorisation hierarchy, Bury St Edmonds example, Peterborough-Grantham, division of payments in pre-privatisation era; [01:43:04] sectorisation process, new thinking, cost of running railway has increased, GNER causes wage inflation with drivers, causing train cancellations elsewhere;[01:49:02] career overview, lodging at Railway Hostel, Loco hostels, redundancy, WR change, traffic analysis, Rowsley, Derby, Crewe, Nantwich, Bridgend, Sheffield, TOPS implementation, Speedlink, RFD, Manchester, Islington; EWS attempts to replace TOPS; Freightliner poached Glynn from EWS with traffic; [02:01:20] work as a consultant sorting out new freight flows, sectorisation, end of Speedlink, lack of knowledge; Michael Portillo, every freight flow had to make 8.5% return on assets; [02:06:50], privatisation, increasing distance of freight flows [02:09:25] [end of interview]

Glynn Waite interviewed by Bob Gwynne

2017-09-18

Oral history interview with Eddy Holmes conducted and recorded by Jo Bath in 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes. [Track 01] Childhood; moved Yorkshire to Shildon (1968), education, left school September 1946 [00:02:50] first job, telegram boy for 1 month, duties [00:04:07] [end of track 01]; [Track 02] starting work, telegram delivery, grocery job (10 months), reasons for leaving, British Rail (BR) Shildon Works (start August 1947) [00:02:40]; start career at Shildon railway works, office boy (Welding Shop office), machinist, training until 21 years [00:04:10]; move to Smith’s Shop, details of work [00:05:00]; move to Wheel’s Shop, grade 1 machining, details of work; move to Machine Profile Burning (1964); work there until Works closure 1984, Shildon BR “jewel in the crown”, details of wagon building, high-capacity wagon contract (1960’s) saved Shildon, details of high-capacity wagon operation, final 11 years as part-time finished work inspector [00:09:00]; normal working day, working hours; making couplings, drilling machines; salary, wages, piece work, details of different work, work pattern, shift work [00:14:40]; working atmosphere; socialising, holidaying together, good relationships, friendships [00:18:00]; health and safety, machine guards, incident, machine profile burning conditions, ambulance room, personal injury, works fire brigade [00:22:00]; working conditions, dirty work in machine profiling burning, clothing, heat produced [00:25:35]; likes/dislikes of job, relief finished work inspecting, reasons; clocking in/out system, least liked-line drilling, reasons [00:28:40]; cats at the Works, personal views [00:30:00]; Shildon Railway Institute, table tennis, snooker, competitions, talent contests [00:31:50]; singing experience in clubs; details of club work, Empire Theatre Middlesborough, other Shildon singers – Alan Fryatt, John Fryatt (organist), George Remain [00:37:00]; boxing in Shildon, good boxers at the Works, Sid Cottingham (machine burner), Ronny Cottingham, gymnasium at the Works [00:38:44] [end of track 02]; [Track 03] 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, few memories, volunteering details, details of event, details of visitors, what was seen [00:03:20]1950 event, no memories [00:04:15]; Union membership, NUR, AEU, AEU shop steward, details of shop stewards and convenors [00:06:00]; works closure, 1982 demonstration to keep Works open, reason for demonstration, House of Commons visit, success at keeping Works open until 1984, politics linked to closure, gradual workforce decrease, low morale, protest involvement, meeting with MPs, blame for closure, questioning reasons for closure [00:12:00]; work after Works closure, machine profile burner at Shildon Forge, works committee, dismissal, disputing dismissal, colleagues support, good relationship with management [00:26:00]; further employment details, Cleveland Bridge at Darlington CN machine operator (9 years), retirement 1967 [00:27:55]; views of other Shildon works employees after closure, majority wanted another job, not a lot of other work, works reduced from 25000 men, some transferred elsewhere, hard for older employees, town has recovered from the closure [00:32:16] [end of Track 03] [end of interview]

Eddy Holmes interviewed by Jo Bath

2004

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3 plans of the Science Museum's Southern Galleries

MiniDV Rushes 'Locomotion, August 2005'

MiniDV Rushes 'Locomotion, August 2005'

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Master MiniDV 'Stirling Middle Signal box'

Master MiniDV 'Coal, Hunterston loading station'

Master Master MiniDV 'Rushes of Shildon official opening'

Master MiniDV Rushes 'Flying Scotsman'

master MiniDV Rushes 'Locomotion, August 2005- Tape 1'

Master MiniDV Rushes 'Newark flat crossing'

Master MiniDV 'Flying Scotsman-July and August 2005'

Master MiniDV 'Flying Scotsman-July and August 2005'

Master MiniDV 'Flying Scotsman footplate'

Master MiniDV ' 'Wemyss bay'

Master MiniDV 'Railfest'

Master MiniDV Rushes 'Locomotion, August 2005- Tape 2'

Master MiniDV 'GNER Craigentinny depot'

Master MiniDV 'LNWR Super D and D200 on North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR)'

Master MiniDV 'Windfarm'

Master MiniDV 'Interview with Eric Manley, 2'

Master MiniDV 'GNER at Heaton depot'

Master MiniDV 'Railway nursery Poppleton'

Master MiniDV 'LNWR Super D and D200 on North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR)'

Master MiniDV 'Traffic over the tamar bridge'

Master MiniDV 'Search engine, 2

Master MiniDV 'Flying Scotsman boiler repair'

Master MiniDV 'Shildon Locomotion construction-1'

Master MiniDV 'Shildon Locomotion construction-3'

MiniDV digital videotape 'Locomotion'

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Eddy Holmes interviewed by Jo Bath

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