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Collection of commercial audio cassettes 'Somerset & Dorset Railway Memories'

1985-1997

Collection of interviews with workers on the former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway line

1984-1999

Garlick, Gladys

2002-12-06

Audio cassette, Mr W.J. Best, Mr. F.R. Lodge, Mr E. Childs of Holloway White Allom Ltd interviewed by Mr A. G. Self

1977-09-09

Audio cassette, Mrs V E Coleman interviewed by Mr A. G. Self

1977-08-31
Oral history interview with General Adrian Lyons, conducted and recorded by Richard Malins at the interviewee's home in West Berkshire on 21 March 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 50 min. 30 sec. Army involvement with railways at Longmoor and in Germany; privatisation impact; retirement from Army; joining Railway Forum; Hatfield accident; Great Heck accident interviews; Railway Forum formation; stakeholder involvement; Railtrack collapse; Strategic Rail Authority (SRA); Richard Bowker and Tom Winsor relationship; Railway Forum improving industry image; passenger growth; Rail Review 2005; SRA and Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) relationship; abolition of SRA; Network Rail; John Armitt; Iain Coucher; leaving Railway Forum 2006; effects of privatisation; Railway Conversion League; press tactics; Department for Transport (DfT) taking control; retirement; military railways in Germany; military railways; Royal Engineers (RE); cultural similarities between military and railways; technology change; Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS); integration of external technology; Crossrail; management culture change; South West Trains (SWT); Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB); standards to combine theoretical and practical; reflections on accidents; Network Rail

General Adrian Lyons interviewed by Richard Malins

2019-03-21
engineering apprentice; Derby Carriage & Wagon Works; LMS Research Department; British Rail Research Department; observer (technical assistant); Head of Security; childhood; family; school; apprenticeship; mechanical engineering degree; Derby Technical College, day release training, 1940; LMS Research Department; LMS Research Department during Second World War; Loach; Newberry; Hoskins; Warlow-Davies; Baldwin; origin of jobs; staff relations; stress concentrations; staff structure in Research Department; promotion; effect of nationalisation; working conditions; collaboration between research laboratories of other former railway companies; career progress; hobbies; degree in electrical engineering; promotion, John Littlewood; specialisation in security, from c. 1960; Chief Constable of British Transport Police; Henry Pearce; interlocking doors; Head of Security Section, c.1970; Railway Pension Fund Art Collection; asbestos, reaction to risk; tobacco freight security; tobacco freight; locks on vans; patents; fiddling on the ferry; radiator fire, Birmingham New Street; withdrawl of British Transport finance from Research Department security work; retirement, 1982; interests family; daughters; experiences, visibility tests, Collingham; viaducts; water balance on canal, Ruabon; test locomotives. d.o.b. 1919-07-04, railway work 1935-1982, London; Hastings; Lewisham;

Maskery, Cyril

2000-11-15
Oral history interview with Graham Eccles, conducted and recorded by Mike Hodson in East Sussex on 17 April 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 42 min. 43 sec. Early career; Margaret Thatcher delay meeting; mentored by Gordon Pettitt; sectorisation; Chris Green; John Prideaux; General Manager of Southern Region and Anglia Region; privatisation model; London, Tilbury & Southend ticket fraud; South Central sale; John Welsby; bus companies prior experience of privatisation; Peter Field at South Western partnership with Compagnie Generale des Eaux (CGE) (Connex); Brian Souter; Stagecoach; Connex; privatisation model seen as flawed; separation of track and trains; reflections on Stagecoach; acquisition of Porterbrook rolling stock company (ROSCO); appointment of Geoff Mee; leading Stagecoach bids for subsequent franchises; Island Line; South West Trains (SWT); Operations Director SWT; driver shortage; Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) exploit industry structure to increase pay; profits driven by passenger numbers; Chief Operating Officer Rail Stagecoach Group; Non-Executive Director Network Rail; acquisition of Porterbrook; ROSCOs successfully privatised; fares innovation; unaligned objectives and directions; separation of track and trains remains unresolved; advising on the 2005 Transport Act; working at No.10 Downing Street Delivery Unit; Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC); quality of management; improvements in South West Trains; measuring success; facilitating change to Network Rail; rail privatisation overseas

Graham Eccles interviewed by Mike Hodson

2018-04-17
soil analyst; projects officer; soil mechanics laboritory; (seven disks - see related items section for synopsis). d.o.b. 1939-10, railway work: 1961-1996

Heath, Donald

2002-10-08
Oral history recording; Expanding National Archive of Railway Oral History; Gerald Egan; family life; daytrips/outings; BRSA; railway clubs; sport; work culture and relationships; memories of individuals; station master; British Rail; ethnic minorities; National Service; retirement activity; preserved railways; 1950s; 1960s; 1970s; 1980s; 1990s; 2000s; Jimmy Savile; Leeds; Dewsbury; Padgate; Blackpool; Leeming; Wakefield; Horbury; Ossett; Healy Mills; Knottingley; Bradford; Hull; Barnsley; Sherburn

Egan, Gerald

2004-11-16
Oral history interview with Andrew Bliss, conducted and recorded by Gordon Dudman at the interviewee's office at Network Rail, Crewe on 23 March 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 5 min. 16 sec. Early career; changing nature of parcels business; Rail Express Systems (RES); InterCity allowed development of premium parcels business; business needed the support of all operations staff; realisation that privatisation would allow Red Star to control costs; impact of privatisation on decisions as Red Star Manager Birmingham; responsibility for 110 staff; Red Star Production Manager; first steps of privatisation early 1990s; Adrian Shooter (Managing Director Parcels); Ivan Coucher (Managing Director for Red Star); managerial appointments; different priorities of ex-British Rail (BR) managers and external managers; new general managers; appointment as Production Manager; early management buyout (MBO) discussions; early decisions to restructure Red Star; privatisation appropriate for parcels distribution business; outside management practices in Red Star replicated; views on privatisation of Red Star and wider rail industry

Andrew Bliss interviewed by Gordon Dudman

2018-03-23
Oral history interview with Peter Forbes, conducted and recorded by Richard Spoors at the interviewee's home in Wiltshire on 5 June 2018. Duration: 55 min. 15 sec. Early career; Senior Technical Officer (STO) Swansea; Area Civil Engineer Preston; sectorisation; Civil Engineer Regional Railways; creation of Railtrack; creating Railtrack Zone boundaries; British Rail Infrastructure Services (BRIS); separation of renewals and maintenance; Western Infrastructure Maintenance Unit (Western IMU) management buyout (MBO); privatisation of BRIS; leading MBO; relationship with Railtrack; Amey; Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE); new transport fleet; Amey buyout of MBO team; retirement

Peter Forbes interviewed by Richard Spoors

2018-06-05
Interview with Robert Thornton conducted by Richard Malins in Reading on the 12th July 2021. Duration 1hr. 16 min. 59 sec. Career introduction; pre nationalisation structure; move to business structure; creation of architecture and design group; Management Buy out; current role; Development of Modular Concepts; key design issues; signage; British rail corporate identity; use of alphabets and fonts; awareness of Railway heritage; building architecture; Kings Cross St Pancras; Liverpool Street-last British rail in house architectural project; Tiverton parkway Station project; Architecture and Design group role changing; Experience of working with listed buildings; writing his book; changing budget for stations; Station Regeneration Programme; building maintenance and condition of railway station estate is an important benefit of privatisation.

Robert Thornton interviewed by Richard Malins

2021-07-12
Oral history interview with Hugh Fenwick, conducted and recorded by David Wharton-Street at the interviewee's home in North Yorkshire on 1 May 2018. Duration: 2 hr. 4 min. 42 sec. Early career; British Rail Civil Engineering Training Scheme; delegated responsibility and authority; secondment to Doncaster District Engineer 1977; development of Concrete Bridge Design (CBDES) computer programme; designing route for Selby Diversion; land purchase; Resident Engineer for Selby Diversion 1980; Outside Parties Bridge Section Regional Civil Engineer’s Office York 1984; ambitions; role and responsibilities of Works Engineer; East Coast Main Line (ECML) electrification; Organising for Quality (OfQ); changes due to sectorisation; Drawing Office Planning and Control System (DOPACS); renaming of Design Department to York Engineering Services (YES); Self-Accounting Unit (SAU); Leadership 5000; Quality Accreditation BS5750; transfer of civil engineering staff to sectors 1991-1992; employment of consultants; Total Business Management (TBM); re-organisation; realignment of YES; new industry structure; profits made from contracts with sectors; computer aided design (CAD); reporting lines; AD Little consultants; reaction of British Rail Infrastructure Services (BRIS); consideration of management buyout (MBO); working with Railtrack; British Rail Vendor Unit; becoming a limited company; Civil Engineering Design Group (CEDG) Ltd.; British Steel as owners of CEDG; Managing Director British Steel CEDG; success; bids; role; reflections on privatisation process; sectorisation; effects of privatisation; Railtrack/Network Rail issues; vertical integration; effect on personal life

Hugh Fenwick interviewed by David Wharton-Street

2018-05-01
Oral history interview with Tim Stubbs, conducted and recorded by Brian Clementson at the interviewee's home in Burton-on-Trent on 2 March 2020. Duration: 38 min. 49 sec. Early career; engineering roles; move to training and development; Personnel Manager for rolling stock companies (ROSCOs) 1994; post-privatisation career; creating of graduate scheme for ROSCOs; British Rail (BR) arrangements for graduate engineers; allocation of graduate engineers to private companies; train engineering service companies (TESCOs) in-house accredited schemes; Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) training scheme; Railtrack’s role in graduate training; professional engineering institutions co-operation with new industry; creation of ATOC training scheme; TOC involvement; reflections on career; effects of privatisation

Tim Stubbs interviewed by Brian Clementson

2020-03-02
Oral history interview with Ken Burrage, conducted and recorded by Brian Clementson at the Institution of Railway Signalling Engineers Headquarters, London on 9 May 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 3 min. 52 sec. Career 1956-1989 in Signal & Telecommunications (S&T); rationalisation of engineering standards; joined Westinghouse Signalling 1995; Signal Design Office purchase; Head of the Institution of Railway Signalling Engineers (IRSE); solid state interlocking (SSI); Integrated Electronic Control Centres (IECC); Hidden Report; Organising for Quality (OfQ) changes; privatisation plans; concern over separation of track and trains; politicians’ lack of railway knowledge; Standards Directorate set-up; transfer to Railtrack; departure from Railtrack; support from David Rayner and Dr Peter Watson; Deputy Managing Director Westinghouse; privatisation model flawed; telecommunications technologies; British Rail Telecommunications (BRT); fibre optic network; sale of telecommunications; loss of career focus; railway as system

Ken Burrage interviewed by Brian Clementson

2018-05-09
Oral history interview with Steve Murphy, conducted and recorded by Nick Mitchell at St Mary Axe, London on 22 November 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 10 min. 1 sec. Early career; Chiltern Trains management buyout (MBO); culture change; franchise agreement; Adrian Shooter; working with government regulators; 3i; Association of Train operating Companies (ATOC); secondment to Irish Railways (Iarnród Éireann); London Overground; reflections on privatisation and franchising

Steve Murphy interviewed by Nick Mitchell

2018-11-22
Oral history interview with David Rollin, conducted and recorded by Richard Malins in Doncaster on 6 March 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 51 min. 47 sec. Early career; gaining commercial expertise with British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL); Project Director for InterCity 225/250; management buyout (MBO) interest; train engineering service units (TESCOs); acquiring business and expansion skills; bid finance; Interfleet deal; Vendor Unit; shares offers; sale of business; business growth; international operations; structure; SNC-Lavalin (SNCL) purchase; railway pensions; organisational culture and structure; bringing British Rail (BR) culture over; SNCL mergers; reflections on career; BREL; Class 91

David Rollin interviewed by Richard Malins

2019-03-06
Oral history interview with Jim Cornell, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson (session 2) at Network Rail Headquarters, 1 Eversholt Street, London on 5 February 2019. Duration: 50 min. 20 sec. Achievements as Group Managing Director of British Rail Infrastructure Services (BRIS) 1993-1996; restructuring for privatisation; staff reductions; trade union relationships; full value not realised; relationships with Railtrack; scope of contract; specification difficulties; split between maintenance and renewals; contract length issue; refused possessions for essential safety maintenance; payments withheld; tripartite meeting with Department of Transport (DoT)/Treasury; Railtrack lack of appreciation of civil engineering; management of 13 BRIS units; railway deteriorated; Railtrack failure; 8 years as Network Rail Board Non-Executive Director

Jim Cornell interviewed by Frank Paterson (session 2 of 2)

2019-02-05
Oral history interview with Stuart Baker, conducted and recorded by David Wharton-Street (session 1) at the interviewee's home in York on 28 November 2018. Duration: 2 hr. 20 min. 5 sec. Career overview; Shift Supervisor Barrow Hill; Total Operations Processing System (TOPS); Relief Manager Preston; Shift Duty Station Manager York; InterCity East Coast; open stations implementation; role of sector and Eastern Region; Prime User concept; Parcels sun-sector; Simon Frazer and Dr John Prideaux (Director InterCity); British Rail (BR) Charter Train business; Organising for Quality (OfQ); Lockington accident; Retail Manager Regional Railways North East (RRNE); passenger transport executives (PTEs); improving station quality; Robert Urie; Mike Hodson; direct reports; Railtrack; track access agreement; train operating units (TOUs) set-up; Paul King; safety case; Ais Gill accident; signalling strike; Railtrack and Safety Case Validation Audit; Regional Railways North East (RRNE) management buyout (MBO) team; Ian Yeowatt; Mersey Travel Ltd. (MTL) bid successful; RRNE last to be franchised; PTEs

Stuart Baker interviewed by David Wharton-Street (session 1 of 3)

2018-11-28
Oral history interview with Raymond Price conducted and recorded by Philip Benham in York on 2 August 2018. Duration: 4 hr. 59 min. 38 sec. Early career; Performance Manager King’s Cross; performance of Great Northern (GN) electrics following driver only operation (DOO) and industrial relations tensions; Area Operations Manager; Organising for Quality (OfQ); sectorisation; privatisation process and phasing; separation of track and trains; Railtrack senior management; Performance Manager West Anglia & Great Northern (WAGN); management down-sizing for privatisation; Railtrack signalling strike; track access agreements; Railtrack East Coast Main Line Route Rationalisation programme; Network Change provisions; preparation of WAGN for privatisation; limited productivity opportunities; WAGN driver re-structuring; trade union attitudes to privatisation; Associated Society of Locomotive Enginemen & Firemen (ASLEF); Rail Maritime & Transport Union (RMT); reasons for WAGN driver re-structuring failure; working on Heathrow Express project; recruitment to Railtrack; Michael Holden; train operating company (TOC) concerns about condition of infrastructure; appointment as Zone Director 1999; Winning is Green; West Anglia Route Modernisation scheme (WARM); relationships with TOC management; performance budget use; Rail Regulator as real Railtrack customer; Southall accident; Paddington accident; Ladbroke Grove accident; signals passed at danger (SPADs) management; Hatfield accident; gauge causing cracking (GCC); replacement of GCC rails; legacy of GCC on Railtrack; safety culture change; relationships with other bodies such as Health & Safety Executive (HSE); Managing Director (MD) Arriva Trains Northern (ATN); passenger transport executives (PTEs); franchise takeover; ATN driver shortage; relationship with Strategic Rail Authority (SRA); RMT conductors dispute; Class 333 issues; differences between Railtrack/Network Rail and TOCs; Northern timetable crisis 2018; successes of ATN; skills gap; Northern franchise shape; Managing Director Arriva Trains 2003; industry structure

Raymond Price interviewed by Philip Benham

2018-08-02
Oral history interview with Dr. Paul King, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the interviewee's home in London on 29 August 2019. Duration: 2 hr. 2 min. 26 sec. Early career; Tube Investments; British Shoe Corporation; headhunted by British Rail 1991; Gordon Pettitt (Managing Director Regional Railways); investment submissions; Class 323; Strategy Review analysis; quantifying social benefits; privatisation; Railtrack; contractual relationships; ticket sales allocations; Managing Director Regional Railways; shadow train operating companies (TOCs); John Welsby track access agreements; station access agreements; Chairman North & West; management buyouts (MBOs); Mark Causebrook; Paul Watkinson; performance regimes; information memorandum; passenger transport executives (PTEs); Theo Steel; Gareth Hadley; Chris Green; John Ellis; MBOs; franchising process; Ivor Warburton; Scotrail; National Express; reflections on privatisation

Dr. Paul King interviewed by Frank Paterson

2019-08-29
Oral history interview with Stuart Baker, conducted and recorded by David Wharton-Street (session 3) at the interviewee's home in York on 12 December 2018. Duration:49 min. 15 sec. Arriva franchise management; disputes process; Part 1 Access Disputes Resolution Committee (ADRC); Part 2 Railway Industry Disputes Resolution Committee (RIDRC); examples of ADRC; Railtrack’s speed restrictions; importance of resolution committees; franchises and rolling stock; open access operators; Regional North East (RRNE) bids; traffic growth

Stuart Baker interviewed by David Wharton-Street (session 3 of 3)

2018-12-12
Oral history interview with Christopher Jago, conducted and recorded by Mike Hodson at the interviewee's home in East Sussex on 19 June 2018. Duration: 56 min. 13 sec. Early career; Network SouthEast (NSE); Railtrack; Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL); privatisation briefing; proposed structure seen as overly complex; Director of Restructuring; new structure placed excessive demands on engineer staffing; Hatfield accident; Network SouthEast restructuring process; post-privatisation issues; re-branding during privatisation; performance regimes; no incentive for train operating companies (TOCs) to mitigate delay; setting up Railtrack South; benefits of privatisation; NSE budget constraints; Railtrack transition into private ownership; effects of privatisation; Railtrack in Administration; shareholders; CTRL; summary of privatisation

Christopher Jago interviewed by Mike Hodson

2018-06-19
Oral history interview with Clifford Perry, conducted and recorded by Chris Kinchin-Smith in Berkshire on 19 July 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 18 min. 13 sec. Early career; Intercity 125 introduction; general management experience; setting up Angel Trains; Director of Traction & Rolling Stock Network SouthEast (NSE); aimed to make privatisation work; Managing Director Thameslink Train Operating Company (TOC); Thameslink 2000; driver only operation (DOO); difficult relationships with Railtrack; Thameslink management buyout; joint venture partner; reasons for unsuccessful bid; GoVia; impact on family life; Sharesave scheme; lessons from MBO bid process; high fixed costs; potential fleet discussed with Porterbrook; change in bidders’ approach during privatisation; losing bid to GoVia; joining AEA Technology; effects of privatisation on TOCs; Thameslink 2000; AEA Technology sale of rail business; improved understanding of interfaces and safety; effects of volume growth and investment

Clifford Perry interviewed by Chris Kinchin-Smith (Session 1 of 2)

2018-07-19
Oral history interview with Prof. Roderick Muttram, conducted and recorded by David Maidment in the Fellows Room, Royal Academy of Engineering, Westminster, London on 6 March 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 20 min. 57 sec. Early career; Atomic Energy Authority; Chloride; Ferranti Instrumentation; headhunted for Railtrack 1993; Bob Reid; John Edmonds; solid state interlocking (SSI); Institute of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE); Clapham accident; sale of British Rail Research; post-Clapham consequences; British Rail Infrastructure Systems (BRIS) privatised; promotion of competition; privatisation of Railtrack 1996; Tom Winsor (Rail Regulator) new access rules; problems with West Coast Main Line (WCML) upgrade; Train Control System (TCS); shadowing David Rayner; Automatic Train Protection (ATP) systems; Clapham and Purley accidents; investigations into signals passed at danger (SPADS); Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS); signals passed at danger reduction and mitigation (SPADRAM); driver reminder appliance (DRA); development of TPWS; implementation of TPWS; European Train Control Systems (ETCS); Southall accident 1997; Ladbroke Grove accident 1999; safety cases; Richard Spoors; Ladbroke Grove signalling; European Rail Train Monitoring System (ERTMS); role of privatisation in Hatfield accident; response to Hatfield; train protection systems; Safety Integrity Levels (SILs); IEC 61508 Functional Safety of Electrical/Electronic/Programmable Electronic Safety-related Systems; Confidential Incident Reporting and Action System (CIRAS); Railway Safety and Standards Board (RSSB); Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB); Railtrack focus on safety; departure from Railtrack Group; RSSB; doubts about RSSB model; driver only operation (DOO)

Prof. Roderick Muttram interviewed by David Maidment

2019-03-06
Interview with Christopher Garnett conducted by Frank Paterson in London on the 20th July 2021. Duration 1hr. 06 min. 33 sec. Education; Commercial Director Eurotunnel; Consultant for Seacontainers; Unsuccessful bids for South Western and Great Western Rail franchises; East Coast Franchise award; Great North Eastern Rail; Bid Process; ex British Rail workers as consultants; east Coat Team; Goals; Impressive Office of Rail Franchising; Management Buy Out team; Rolling Stock Companies relationships; Passenger expectations for privatisation; staff response; Route of Flying Scotsman; Opinions on performance regime; Rail stations; Reflections on process; Relationships with politicians; Open Access dispute with Office of rail Regulation on 2005 bid; Impact of suicides; Compliments about British rail Graduate Scheme

Christopher Garnett interviewed by Frank Paterson

2021-07-12
Oral history interview with Ken Burrage, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers, London on 23 January 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 49 min. 16 sec. Attitude towards signalling post-Clapham; importance of communications network; British Rail Telecommunications (BRT) set-up; support for concept; fibre optic network maintenance concerns; BRT sale; Network Rail recreation of network; ownership of maintenance of assets critical; contract supervision; internal maintenance brought back; Westinghouse purchase of Design Offices; comparisons pre and post privatisation; positive inputs from contractors; Network Rail reintroduced training; Clapham accident impacts; signalling fault responsible; personal involvement on day of accident; Joint Inquiry; 25 recommendations; hidden Inquiry; 97 recommendations; resistance to change removed; reorganisation; Director Engineering Standards Director 1992-1994; Controller Railtrack Group Standards; move to Westinghouse; relationships with key people; Network Rail; Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE); competency licensing

Ken Burrage interviewed by Frank Paterson

2019-01-23
Oral history interview with David Douglas, conducted and recorded by Brian Clementson at the interviewee's home in York on 11 June 2021. Duration:31 min. 6 sec. Education; Trainload freight; Track maintenance; Privatisation anxiety; Production Director, eastern Track Renewals Co; purchasing of companies; Formation of Fastline Co; Management Employee Buy out; Jarvis ltd takeover of Fastline; relationship with Railtrack and Network Rail; head of Civil engineering at Jarvis; Senior role in Network Rail; Working on international projects; opinions on privatisation.

David Douglas Interviewed by Brian Clementson

2021-06-11
Oral history interview with Clive Kessell, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the Union Jack Club, London on 8 October 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 21 min. 17 sec. Education; Crewe workshops; Derby divisional drawing office; Watford power box; seconded to GEC Telephone Works Coventry; Derby; Stoke power box; Deputy Telecoms Engineer Nottingham division 1970; radio systems for Advanced Traffic Information(ATI); Telecoms Engineer (General) at British Railways Board Headquarters (BRB HQ); standardisation; Telecoms Engineer (Radio) at BRB HQ 1975; driver only operation (DOO); creation of National Radio Network (NRN); Telecoms Engineer Southern Region 1979; completion of National Telecoms Plan and Extension Trunk Dialling (ETD) system; telecoms information sharing; Telecoms Engineer BRB HQ 1984; high capacity digital transmission systems; NRN; Polmont accident; Overlay Radio Network (ORN) project developed using NRN; Deal concluded with Mercury for fibre cable in British Rail troughs 1984; telecoms seen as a source of income by BRB; sectorisation; creation of British Rail Telecoms [BRT]; BRT not seen to be taking safety seriously; Racal and Apex Holdings potential buyers; sale to Racal; initially not interested in railways; sale to Thomson CSF/Thales; asset swap deal with Alcatel; retirement 2011; BRT relationships with other departments and rail industry pre/post privatisation

Clive Kessell interviewed by Frank Paterson

2018-10-08
Oral history interview with Peter Newbould, conducted and recorded by Michael Lee at the interviewee's home in Cambridgeshire on 13 March 2019. Duration: 53 min. 41 sec. Personal background and early career; civil engineering; Network SouthEast (NSE); Thameslink 2000; Franchise Development Manager South West Trains (SWT); Dominic Booth; Peter Field; Michael Holden; Mac Macintosh; Chris Kinchin-Smith; Strathclyde Marketing Manager; Cyril Bleasdale; Chris Green; Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive (SPTE); Service Quality Incentive Regime (SQUIRE); management buyout (MBO) team; National Express won franchise; early work with SWT franchise development team; franchise management

Peter Newbould interviewed by Michael Lee

2019-03-13
Interview with Jonathan Bray conducted by Frank Paterson on the 9th September 2021 in Askham Bryan. Duration: 49 min. 49 sec. Education and early interests; campaigning process; recruitment to save Our Railways campaign; Political influence and timetable for privatisation; amendments to Railways Bill; briefing of MPs; Office of Rail Passenger Franchising amended documentation; Rail user Group relationships; Labour attitude to rail; Unions withdrew support to Save Our Railways; Lobbying tactics; all Save our Railway documents in the National Railway Museum archive

Jonathan Bray interviewed by Frank Paterson

2021-09-09
Interview with David Allen conducted by Richard Spoors on the 26th of January 2022. Duration 1 hr 49min 45 sec. Early Life; early career; Career in the civil Service; Training with the Ministry of Defence; Costing and Budgetary work; Joins British rail as a Computer Auditor; Training as a Systems Analyst; Moved to Doncaster as Divisional Finance Officer in the Operating Division of the eastern Region; Divisional Finance office structure; meeting Bob Reid; new Role as British railways Board presenter at finance courses; Lecturer at business schools; Government/railway relationships; Public sector Obligation Grant; external financing limits; cost analysis and control; sectorisation; Railtrack; Transmark position in Botswana for 14 months; Role as Corporate Budgets officer in London for all things non-rail; non rail businesses sold off in 1980s; sale of BRB property; Sectorisation and the future of privatisation; development of incremental cost analysis; Director is Finance at Railtrack; development of Railtrack accounting system; problems; Retirement in 1996; Railtrack’s business ethos; Pension Funds; Reflection and conclusion

David Allen interviewed by Richard Spoors

2022-01-26
Oral history interview with Lord William Bradshaw, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the interviewee's home in Oxfordshire on 9 April 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 39 min. 33 sec. British Rail (BR) career; departure in 1986; academic career; 1993 Railways Bill; Special adviser to Transport Select Committee; Chartered Institute of Transport (CIT); role of Select Committee; Adam Smith Institute; Gwyneth Dunwoody (Chair); Railtrack evidence; separation of track from trains; reports dismissed by government; Rail Regulator; Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF); rolling stock sold below true value; comparisons with other privatisations; lawyers and accountants; Labour government; Penmanshiel Tunnel; Andrew Haines; Select Committees reports rejected by government; appointed to Strategic Rail Authority (SRA); Alastair Morton; Channel Tunnel layout at St Pancras; work of SRA; Chiltern Railways franchise; John Prescott; Hatfield accident consequences

Lord WIlliam Bradshaw interviewed by Frank Paterson

2019-04-09
Oral history interview with Stuart Baker, conducted and recorded by David Wharton-Street (session 2) at the interviewee's home in York on 4 December 2018. Duration: 2 hr. 9 min. 56 sec. Mersey Travel Ltd. (MTL); transfer of staff; MTL and passenger transport executives (PTEs); track access agreement; Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF); Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC); delays mechanism; MTL reasons for handing back franchise; Arriva appointment; working in Denmark; joining Strategic Rail Authority (SRA); Chris Kinchin-Smith; West Coast Passenger Upgrade 2 (PUG2); rolling stock; CrossCountry; abolition of SRA; West Coast problems; transfer to Department for Transport (DfT); objections to PUG2; Network Rail/Virgin West Coast commitment to December 2008 timetable change; network development; Reading station; Hitachi Class 821/2; feasibility of Midland Main Line (MML) electrification; High Speed 2 (HS2); electrification; TransPennine; Chairman of British Railways Board; thoughts on privatisation; franchise flexibility; assessment of career

Stuart Baker interviewed by David Wharton-Street (session 2 of 3)

2018-12-04
Oral history interview with David Maidment, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the National Railway Museum, York on 16 March 2020. Duration: 1 hr. 53 min. 36 sec. Regional Operations Manager British Rail: London Midland Region; reliability; risk assessments; Doug Power (Chief Mechanical Engineer); quality management; Willesden pilot; Clapham Junction rail crash inquiry; David Rayner; safety review; safety culture; 1991 safety plan; human errors impact; signals passed at danger (SPADs); European and international collaboration; As Low as Reasonably Practicable (ALARP); door locking; Sir Bob Reid 2; Health & Safety Executive (HSE); parliamentary review of rail safety; 1993 Railway Act; Railtrack; safety audit; Southall accident; post-privatisation safety risks and culture

David Maidment interviewed by Frank Paterson

2020-03-16
Second session of Interview with Ian Yeowart conducted by Frank Paterson on the 23rd June 2021 in the National Railway Museum, York. Duration 1hr. 46min. 35 sec. Management Buy Out team for Midland main Line, appeal; National Express Awarded Midland Franchise; redundancy; Management Buy Out bid registered in name of Grand central; Selling to Great north Eastern Railway to Sea Containers; Business plans; BBC information; Go Cart Business in York- Monks Cross; open access opportunities; retained Grand Central name; introduction of first open access service in 2004; development; Arriva; Great North Easten Railway judicial review; Porterbrook HST bought; revenue abstraction claim by GNER disputed; company buy out by Arriva; Later career; comments on current railways.

Ian Yeowart interviewed by Frank Paterson (session 2 of 2)

2021-06-23
Oral history interview with David MacLean, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the National Railway Museum, York on 10 June 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 39 min. 48 sec. Personal background; apprenticeship; Signalling & Telecoms (S&T); merger; microwave radio Doncaster to Edinburgh; public address systems; King's Cross test bed; Anglia Region; Contracts Manager responsibilities; project management relationships; Organising for Quality (OfQ); establishment of British Rail Telecommunications (BRT); safety; approach to job; attitude to privatisation; John Drake; shadow train operating companies (TOCs); preparing for sale of BRT; Racal culture change; share value; trade unions

David MacLean interviewed by Frank Paterson

2019-06-10
Interview with Martin Shrubsole conducted by Frank Paterson on the 9th July 2021. Education; British Rail management trainee; Supervisory posts Edinburgh, Glasgow Bridgeton, Patrickhill; catholic/protestant disputes; Bowling Oil terminal accident; Scottish Region Freight analysis; various roles in Management assistance; Passenger Charter development; move to Marketing Managerial positions; Iron and Steel; overhaul of iron ore operations; Coal Marketing Manager; overhaul of domestic coal; Coal merchant tenancies on British Rail land principal lever- wagon utilisation; Cost allocations; Coal strike; Secondment to Civil service Highways Division; establishment of the Highway Agency; Provincial Services project-transfer of British rail assets to local authorities; name change-Regional Railways; preparation of freight for privatisation; Civil service interest in USA freight railway services; British railway Board development of three shadow companies; Track access; rights of different sections; Code of Practice; Timetabling issues; developing track access arrangements; Office of Rail Regulation criteria; attitudes; development of standard performance regimes necessary; Changes from first franchise; reflections

Martin Shrubsole interviewed by Frank Paterson

2021-07-07
Interview with Christian Wolmar conducted by David Maidment on the 16th June 2021. Duration- 57 min, 04 sec. Covering rail privatisation as a journalist and author. Education and early career in retail and marketing; working as a transport correspondence for the independent; Column for Rail Magazine; launch of White paper; Conservative party dissent; British Rail and central Transport Consultative Committee sources; Interview with Bob Reid II; the ‘Deerstalker express’; Ticket office reduction controversy; Sale of Rolling Stock Companies; Press conferences with new Train operating Companies; First privatised train; His Library of press cuttings; Meetings with Bob Horton; working days; party feedback on his articles; views on British Rail structure pre privatisation; Book sales and going freelance.

Christian Wolmar interviewed by David Maidment

2021-06-16
Oral history interview with Adrian Shooter, conducted and recorded by David Maidment (session 2) at the interviewee's home in Oxfordshire on 2 August 2019. Duration: 2 hr. 36. min. 13 sec. Chiltern Trains management team; track access agreements; communication with customers; working with Railtrack; growth potential north of Bicester revenue growth; working with Laing; new rolling stock; safety; Automatic Train Protection (ATP); driver only operation (DOO); Turbostar developments based on Chiltern stock; retaining Princes Risborough–Aylesbury branch; Class 165 refurbishment; asking for a 20 year franchise; Sir Alastair Morton; Birmingham Centro (West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE)); investment for 20 year plan; Railtrack role in infrastructure delivery; selling shares; partnership with SBB (Swiss Railways) for Wessex franchise bid; bid for Thameslink with MTR (Hong Kong); bid for London Overground with London Transport; Chairman M40 Group; changes at Chiltern; Chair Adhesion Group for 15 years; Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) Board

Adrian Shooter interviewed by David Maidment (session 2 of 3)

2019-08-02
Oral history interview with Lord Peter Snape, conducted and recorded by Lord Richard Faulkner at Westminster on 10 July 2018. Duration: 17 min. 49 sec. Labour’s stance on privatisation; Robert Adley; Peter Parker; Bob Reid 2; John Prescott; House of Lords British Railways Board (BRB) bidding right decision; separation of track and trains; development of privatisation model; re-nationalisation; inevitability of privatisation; John Major uncommitted; ideal industry structure; Railfreight

Lord Peter Snape interviewed by Lord Richard Faulkner

2018-07-10
Oral history interview with John Nelson, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the interviewee's home in York on 23 April 2018. Duration: 2 hr. 1 min. 6 sec. Restructuring Area Managers 1988-89; Anglia Region; Eastern Region changed first to sub-sector; Bob Reid 1; Bob Reid 2; unifying sector resources facilitated privatisation process; abolition of regions; Organising for Quality (OfQ) based on Eastern template; appointed Managing Director Network South East 1992; management responsibility bottom line; external financial limits (EFL) imposed by Treasury; public surveys; Chiltern Railways; general election 1992; unable to persuade politicians; preparation for franchising; access agreements with Railtrack; John Welsby as Chairman/Chief Executive; management buyouts (MBOs); Railtrack flotation; MBO issues; privatisation weakness; personal activities post-privatisation

John Nelson interviewed by Frank Paterson

2018-04-23
Interview with Mick cash conducted by Frank Paterson on the 27 October 2021 in the Railway Maritime Transport Union headquarters in London. Duration 01hr. 33min. 37sec. Early Career; Trade union involvement; labour party member; Merger with NU Seamen 1990; roles of president/General Secretary and Executive; British Rail/Railway Maritime Transport Replace Machinery for negotiation; prelude to privatisation; impact of Clapham; impact and tasks of RMT; Bargaining tactics; British Rail paybill deductions; NEC attitude to privatisation; Two tier railway workforce; NEC negotiating team; Railtrack easiest to privatise; signalman’s dispute; personal involvement; changes in local relationships; personal 1994-2002; Development of RMT blue book of aspirational terms and conditions for all technical staff; elected assistant general secretary RMT; value of corporate memory; reflections; Save our Railways; Jimmy Knapp; Guard issues; ballot Driver Only Operation; voting; Involvement with Keith Williams Review; funding mechanisms.

Mick Cash Interviewed by Frank Paterson

2021-10-27
Oral history interview with Lord Richard Rosser, conducted and recorded by Nick Mitchell at the interviewer's home in London on 12 July 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 2 min. 8 sec. Industrial Relations Clerk London Underground; Baker Street; joining Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA); branch secretary; Labour Party; TSSA General Secretary 1989; campaigning against privatisation; train operating companies meetings; sale of British Rail companies; membership in the private sector; staff attitudes; Railtrack; relationships with engineering companies; rolling stock companies (ROSCOs) de-recognition of TSSA; foreign ownership; Secretary of State involvement in industry; collective bargaining; retirement; reflections from House of Lords

Lord Richard Rosser interviewed by Nick Mitchell

2018-07-12
Oral history interview with Mike Harvey, conducted and recorded by Philip Benham at the interviewee's home in Redditch on 26 June 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 27 min. 21 sec. Career synopsis; Compagnie Auxiliaire de Chemins de Fer Belge (CAIB); private wagons; Storage & Transport Services UK (STS UK); Traffic Services Ltd. (TSL); takeover of TSL and expansion; purchase of Procor UK 1988; responsibilities in CAIB; Marcroft Engineering customers and contract types; Tiphook and Tiger Rail acquisitions; CAIB philosophy towards legislative change; EC Directive 91/440; Private Wagon Federation (PWF): Chairman Wagon Builders’ & Repairers’ Association; Chairman Association of Private Rail Wagon Operators; private owner wagons operations; 1923 Grouping; Railway Clearing House; private wagon industry representation for privatisation; preparing Railfreight for privatisation; Robert Adley (Member of Parliament); Representations on Railways Bill 1992; privatisation process; Ed Burkhardt (Wisconsin Central); English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS); new industry relationships; vehicle repair and maintenance standards; Rickerscote accident; changes triggered by EWS; rail freight market emergence; Railtrack national distribution business Railtrack contract management

Mike Harvey interviewed by Philip Benham

2019-06-26
Oral history interview with Alec McTavish, conducted and recorded by Michael Lee at the interviewee's home in Chislehurst on 21 November 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 17 min. 41 sec. Personal background; Government Economic Service; John Welsby; Move to British Rail Policy Unit; sectorization; Planning and Strategy Manager Provincial; John Edmonds; personal views on privatisation proposals; Head of British Rail Business Systems; information technology (IT) organisation in Derby; Director of Operations Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC); James Gordon; revenue clearing scheme; Rail Settlement Plan (RSP); involvement of train operating companies (TOCs); RSP franchise cancellation; telephone enquiries; Serco; views of staff; George Muir; station issues; ATOC involvement in franchise agreements; reflections on privatisation and career

Alec McTavish interviewed by Michael Lee

2019-11-21
Oral history interview with Philip Benham, conducted and recorded by Brian Clementson at the interviewee's home in North Yorkshire on 12 February 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 49 min. 4 sec. Traffic Student; Divisional Inspector Nottingham; Area Manager York; Area Manager King's Cross; sectorisation; Organising for Quality (OfQ) implementation in Eastern Region operations; Customer Services and Retail Manager InterCity 1992; 1992 election; career implications of privatisation; East Coast Main Line (ECML) management buyout (MBO); franchise development role; workload; MBO unsuccessful; Ticketing and Inter-operator Contracts Implementation Team (TICIT); Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC); Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA) part of franchise requirements; Operational Research Computerised Allocation of Tickets System (ORCATS); ATOC framework; ticket conditions; legal issues and cultural change; network and train operating company (TOC independence; realities of privatisation; need for central co-ordination of industry; Rail Delivery Group (RDG); Double Arrow accepted as cross-industry brand marker; General Manager North York Moors Railway (NYMR); reflections on privatisation

Philip Benham interviewed by Brian Clementson

2019-02-12
Oral history interview with Mark Causebrook, conducted and recorded by Theo Steel at the interviewee's home in Northampton on 17 June 2018. Duration: 3 hr. 4 min. 28 sec. Planning Office British Rail: London Midland Region London Division; Staff Entrant Management Trainee; traffic management; Rocket 150 celebrations; Motorail Kensington Olympia closure; preparing for Thameslink coal management unit; miners' strike; privatisation of subsidiaries; British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL); British Transport Hotels; investigating General Electric (GE) and General Motors (GM) freight locomotives; Regional Railways North East (RRNE); TransPennine; matrix management; John Edmonds (Director Regional Railways); Transport Users Consultative Committee (TUUC); West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE); Class 14x Pacers; stopping single tracking; Settle & Carlisle line closure; Leadership 500; Sector Director Regional Railways Central (RRC); scale of operations; leadership team; staff relationships and pay; vertical integration; opinions on RRC; Class 158; 1992 election; separation of track and trains; profit centres; train operating units (TOUs); privatisation process; First Group and National Express bids; Centro/West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE); Dean Finch; National Express Central bid cost reductions; Passenger Service Requirement (PSR); Railtrack/Network Rail; National Express finances; joining Go Ahead; Thameslink; London Bridge issues; work with First Class Partnerships (FCP); rolling stock companies (ROSCOs)

Mark Causebrook interviewed by Theo Steel

2018-06-17
Oral history interview with Christopher Austin, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the National Railway Museum, York on 13 August 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 18 min. 32 sec. Early work with London Transport; Parliamentary Affairs Manager 1987; remit; correspondence with politicians; evidence to Select Committees; Robert Adley; Peter Snape; Gwyneth Dunwoody; sectors; politician’s issues; contacts and access to politicians; promotion of railway private bills; Peter Snape; briefing for debates; weekly analysis of potential issues; relationships with civil servants; private bills second readings; political party conferences; Adam Smith Institute; Transport 2000; Railway Bill; second reading February 1993; separation of track from trains; Railtrack sale; scrutiny process; House of Lords process; railway pensions and travel facilities; British Railways Board (BRB) excluded from bidding for train operating companies (TOCs); personal impact; London, Tilbury and Southend (LTS) ticket fraud; John Welsby weekly meetings; Bob Reid 2

Christopher Austin interviewed by Frank Paterson

2019-08-13