Search our collection

Oral history interview with Margaret Willmot conducted and recorded by Dr Jonathan Aylen on 8 December 2016. Duration: 1 hour 2 minutes 28 seconds. The interview focuses on Margaret Willmot’s experience as a junior programmer on TOPS (Total Operations Processing System) at British Rail. Start of railway career, TOPS (Total Operations Processing System), education, computing degree, job application; [00:03:23] British Rail induction, COBOL programming language, computing people vs railway people career approach; BR computer centres, machine types; work on TOPS at Blandford House, gender stereotypes, work on TOPSTRANS; [00:07:30] programming language in TOPSTRANS, assembler based macro language, how it worked, [00:14:23], computer core memory, data storage on magnetic tapes; TOPS customed built equipment, operating system; [00:18:30] disc drives vs tape drives, online vs offline processing; [00:20:00] TOPS wagons team, coding applications related to wagons, how coding was done, equipment used, punch cards, tele-type, team reaction to online machine, typing cards, programmers and typists, typing error example; [00:23:35] writing new enquiry for commodity code, modifying existing code, American code vs British Rail code, STANOX, TOPS Responsibility Areas (TRA), end of punch cards; [00:26:05] ventek cards 96 columns punch cards vs 80 column cards, no use of paper tape on TOPS; [00:29:51] enquiry for commodity code, security in TOPS; safety, preventative maintenance of wagons in TOPS, ‘cripples’ wagon; [00:32:20] TOPS wagon team, colleagues, organisation, way of working, hard coding, complexity of wagon movements in Scunthorpe area; [00:36:05] modification to original American TOPS for use by British Rail, example of obsolete codes for United Kingdom application; TOPS telecommunication, BR private phone lines; [00:41:10] British Rail choosing IBM over ICL; training on TOPSTRANS by Southern Pacific, relationship with Americans, helping with issues, BR staff visits to USA; interviewer discussing origin of TOPS; [00:46:20] example of computer crashing with application programme, technical issues and requirement, human errors rather than programme errors, example of issues with wagons, missing wagons, numbers painted on wagons; wagon audited against TOPS data; [00:55:00] working hours, office based work, junior position, reflections on experience on TOPS, camaraderie in TOPS team, TOPS experience useful in next job, if TOPS is still in use; date formatting in TOPS, space saving format; [00:59:30] leaving TOPS and British Railway, career after TOPS, San Francisco based computing company, revenue system for Eurotunnel; [01:01:00] further reflection on experience on TOPS [01:02:28] [end of interview]

Margaret Willmot interviewed by Jonathan Aylen

2016-12-08

Oral history interview with David Thomas conducted and recorded by Matthew Hick on 17 July 2012, at the National Railway Museum. Duration: 1 hour. Background; starting as a volunteer, campaigning for York as NRM site, site requirements, museum opening 1975; Friends of the National Railway Museum (FNRM) group established, Lord Downs, member of Stephenson Locomotive Society, joined FNRM; [00:03:40] FNRM details, membership, presence at NRM, how volunteering began; DT stopped volunteering early 1980s due to work pressures [00:06:10] maintaining contact with FNRM; stewarding trains, examples, organising York Evening Meetings (1994), York FNRM Evening Meetings, details, numbers, benefits to FNRM; [00:09:00] volunteer recruitment; end of 1990’s, volunteer recruitment and training co-ordinator (autumn 2000), information points and miniature railway volunteers, Claire Evans, background in training and recruitment, detail, job satisfaction; [00:15:50] other aspects of volunteer recruitment; formation of millennium volunteers in York, opportunities to get younger volunteers, reservations, failures, developing records, IT development, volunteer database development; [00:22:10] volunteer management; volunteer manager (Kate Wadden) appointed (2002), coming to terms with having a manager, success at working together, volunteer manager success across museums in the group, continued when Matt Thompson appointed, links with other volunteer officers, job satisfaction continued; [00:27:00] volunteering development; Railfest 2004, Matt Hick impact; [00:29:00] what drove the first volunteer push; concern to move volunteer recruitment quickly, contributory factors in helping recruitment; [00:32:30] why NRM increased volunteer numbers, recordkeeping on volunteers, value of volunteers; reasons for recruiting more miniature railway volunteers, not enough drivers, recruited 10; [00:34:10] driver training provided by Director of Engineering Richard Gibbon; [00:35:00] Back of House teams; Tuesday night team managed by Rich Gibbon, changed when Richard Gibbon retired; [00:36:50] highlights whilst a volunteer co-ordinator; satisfaction of people who were recruited and stayed, some still at NRM; [00:38:00] changes in volunteer recruitment, applicants with “their own agendas”, now recruit against a job description, applicants with impediments, improving inclusivity in recruiting volunteers, turning down applicants, dealing with difficult cases, museum needs to “get what it needs”; [00:43:00] roles at NRM; would have liked to have been involved in locomotive support, linked to family history, role carried out like in professional career with British Telecom (BT); [00:45:00] last 12 years; enjoyment, good support, enjoyed working with Claire Evans; shock of having a manager; Railfest 2004, challenges managing volunteers, keeping up with changes; [00:48:00] change in relationships between staff and volunteers; more co-operation and co-ordination, closer links with learning team; [00:49:50] change in relationship between the volunteers and FNRM; [00:51:00] Why NRM appointed a Volunteer Manager (Kate Waddon); DT volunteers 1 day per week and for FOH volunteers, appointment to cover whole spectrum of volunteering, volunteering in better shape now, very positive development; [00:53:00] reflections on own volunteering experience, no disappointment overall, found it difficult in 1 day per week role, keeping pace with what is happening; [00:55:50] how family views his volunteer endeavours; [00:56:20] aspirations for future volunteer programme; get people that the museum needs, questioning impact of economic crisis on future of volunteering [00:59:36] [end of interview]

David Thomas interviewed by Matthew Hick

2014-10-13

Sterile nitrile gloves, as used by frontline health workers

Sterile latex gloves for frontline health workers

Margaret Willmot interviewed by Jonathan Aylen

Pair of skiing type goggles, used as protective equipment by laboratory workers

Pair of post operative goggles

Steel transport box trolley, for Self-Pitching Carbon Fibre Cyclic Pitch Propeller, prototype

YuMi dual-arm collaborative robot

Welcome to East Coast First Class

Component of Soyuz TMA-19M descent module, S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Public Corporation “Energia”

Component of Soyuz TMA-19M descent module, S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Public Corporation “Energia”

Component of Soyuz TMA-19M descent module, S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Public Corporation “Energia”

Component of Soyuz TMA-19M descent module, S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Public Corporation “Energia”

Transpennine TPEXPRESS newspaper

First Class Food & Drink

Alstom brochure

The Screaming Valenta

High Speed UK - Connecting the Nation brochure

High Speed UK - Connecting the Nation brochure

Tickets and timetables showing the new station at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesborough

Public Ownership for our Railways

Jack Fussey and Ramsey MacCleary interviewed by Tony Steadman

David Thomas interviewed by Matthew Hick

Nao V5 Evolution humanoid robot

Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car

Switch mode power supply

Commemorative vial of Moderna's first in human use of their H10N8 flu vaccine

NAWCC Horological Crafts Competition 2016 People's Prize Rosette

NAWCC Horological Crafts Competition 2016 'First Prize in Class' Cut Class Cup

DNA testing kit

Packaging for colomycin injection

Part of cake made of compacted figs

Human Stones from excavation at Jebel Moya, 1911-1914

2 pieces of incomplete metatarsal bone

REEM Service Robot

Power adapter / transformer, for RoboThespian 3 robot actor

Switch mode power supply

‘Mac Mini’ desktop computer, for use with Animatronic baby, including servos and cantilevers

Power control box (with clear plastic top)

Two instruction manual for Nao V5 Evolution humanoid robot

AC Mains and adaptor for Nao V5 Evolution humanoid robot

150 years of Charing Cross Station

Iron age axehead

Thomas & Friends Bath Buddies plastic bath toy set

Discharge certificate, confirming triage and negative Ebola test

Colour leaflet explaining how Ebola is transmitted within communities

Yellow sticky labels, for use by laboratory workers

Colour leaflet explaining how Ebola is transmitted

Documents relating to the collection, transport and donation of items

Blue paper form for patient details

Poster giving information about Ebola