National Archive Of Railway Oral History

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The National Archive of Railway Oral History (NAROH) holds over a thousand hours of recordings capturing the stories of people who worked on Britain's railways. The archive is held at the National Railway Museum in York and was founded and managed by the Friends of the National Railway Museum, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

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National Archive of Railway Oral History

Oral history interview with Eric Brass (session 1 of 2) conducted by Robert Aitchison on 25 February 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Original duration: 41 minutes, however there are many distortions throughout the recording, resulting in 28 minutes of audible recording via the digital access file. Education, All Saints School (left 1948); career start, clothing factory, Shildon Works; served 2 years National Service, returned to works; following Shildon works closure stayed for 8 years with new owners until aged 60 years; [00:01:00] apprentice fitter, new wagons, repair side, promotion, jig and tool work, charge hand for drilling machines; [00:02:00] after Works closure, company who took over the Works until final closure; impact of Shildon Works closure, personal impact, devastated although still had a job, impact on town, hard times for the town, some younger men transferred, loss of small businesses; [00:03:20] working conditions, improved as times went by, forge example; Works stories; relationships, friendly, managers; protest march against closure in Thatcher era, Works was closed even though they were the best, reduction in Union power, bitterness, closure spoilt lifetime of working at the Works; [00:06:20] 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, on duty, great event, thousands of people; living in Shildon; hard times at start of War, parents ensured family had sufficient food, post War “boom” time at Works, family members at the Works; list of shops in Shildon, picture houses; [00:09:20] population of Shildon, decreased a few thousands since closure, during “boom” time every family had some connection to Works; Shildon Works, where it was, office building site, biggest sidings; [00:11:10] personal views on new museum, good, questions longevity of museum and visitor target numbers; importance of Shildon Works, valued in near area, men employed from wide area, good comradeship, views of Darlington railway works workers; [00:13:00] memories of first museum, visited in early days, housed in “boxing” family's house, visited with father from 5-6 years old; personal views on politics of area and local people engagement with politics; [00:14:50] National Service, 1955-1957, armourer, glad to get it over; [00:15:40] employment at Shildon Works, example of how keen men were to work at the Works, comparison with other local workplaces; first wage, first job in the office delivering mail, little money when serving his time, followed father who was employed at the Works, pride in products; [00:18:00] Merry-go-round wagons, local haulage firm involvement, good local firm involvement, other product production; [00:19:30] Shildon works, further details, maximum of two and a half thousand men, caused town population increase, best times 1960’s and 1970’s, closure 1984, unclear why closure occurred, overseas competition; [00:22:20] Second World War, women worked, Italian prisoners of war, 5 years old when War started; scalding accident, hospital treatment; interview interrupted [00:28:05] [end of interview]

Eric Brass interviewed by Robert Aitchison (session 1 of 2)

2004-02-25

clerk; traffic apprentice; stationmaster; area manager; freight depot manager; area manager; divisional operating superintendent; management services manager; divisional manager; regional operations manager; safety programme director; ticket office; daily routine; Lewisham accident; staffing stations; initial training; rules and regulations; signalling inspectors; training, motive power department; freight train investigations; box visits; staff problems; Tom Rixon; total signal failure; railway houses; disciplinary; staff shortages; Lionel Sebright; depot badly managed; change management; National Union of Railwaymen (NUR); working management courses; operating discipline; rationalisation; electrification; nuclear flasks; Her Majesty's Railway Inspectors (HMRI); diesel multiple units (DMU); flooding; points failure; career moves; handling disputes; Spa Road incident; revenue protection; commuter associations; management of all aspects of accountability; strike 1988; Automatic Train Protection (ATP); Southall accident; Clapham accident; CLI 55 doors, backside covering; class 47; Signals passed at danger (SPADS); revenue protection; royal trains; safety management group; changing of work practice following accident; theory of structure simplification; haphazard management development; empowerment; d.o.b. 1935-09-21, railway work 1956-1992, Catterick; West country, Exeter; Eden Park; Elmers End; Clock House; Hither Green Booking Office; Collumpton; Newton Abbott; Taunton; Bristol temple Meads; Merthyr Tydfil; Worcester; Torquay Line; Banbury; Kemble; Shrewsbury District; Gloucester Eastgate; Uxbridge; Twyford; Southall; Newbury race; Cheltenham; Carlisle; Perth Depot; Quintinshill; Workington; Sellafield; Nottingham; Headquarters, Paddington; Didcot power station; Westbury; Chippenham; Beckenham; High Halden; Dover; Doncaster; Newton; Dillington House; Swindon; British Steel Corporation; Eastern Region; National Coal Board (NCB); Western Region;

Poynter, Bob

2002-11-19&27

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