Search our collection

Clear all filters
Image
Category
Collection
Maker
Object type
Place
Material
Date

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

1984-1999

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

1985-1997

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
trade union; local departmental committees; ASLEF General Secretary; reason for being active, Nine Elms Depot, Army King Regulations; 1947 call up, driving by 24th birthday; 1963, LDC Waterloo; 1973, Executive Committee of ASLEF; 1981 President; 1984 District Officer; 1992 Assistant General Secretary; 1994 General Secretary; unofficial acts, Waterloo; LDC duties; rostering, complaints; discipline; work is rule; General Secretary RW Buckton; Assistant General Secretary Don Pullen; Executive Committee sessions; Marsham Street; trade union support; procedure for dealing with cases; 8 hour day dispute; dispute over letter; £10.00 contribution is Signals passed At Danger (SPAD) report; selling railway houses; Assistant General Secretary duties; General Secretary; social life; d.o.b. 1929-01-09, railway work 1944-1994. 3.1496 x 2.8346 x .315 in.

Fullick, Derrick Frank

2001-06-02
Oral history interview with Dr Alan Wickens, former Director of Research at British Railways, conducted by Bob Gwynne and Dr Jonathan Aylen on the 16th April 2018. TOPS project; Educated as Aeronautical Engineer; Sea Slug; dynamics problems; Cl88 long range aircraft; Flutter and vibration specialist on Blue Steel project for AV Roe (1987.752); Recruited to BR Railway Technical Centre; observation of a coal train; using techniques from aircraft industry in the Rail industry; Derailment rate of freight wagons; PAL van critical speed; Use of computers to calculate and simulate motions of a railway vehicle; building own simulator; modifying analogue computers; British Rail Research Department; HSFV1; APT; Passenger business driving modernisation; use of CAD; finite element analysis; Research departments in other countries and businesses.

Dr Alan Wickens interviewed by Bob Gwynne and Dr Jonathan Aylen

2018-04-16
Kenneth Grange discusses his career in 2013, interview conducted by Ellen Tait. High Speed Trains; Advance passenger Trains; designing livery for the APT; designing the shape; wind tunnel design; relationship with engineering team; influences in his design; developing the design; design starting points; aerodynamics; previous designs; research conducted; prior connection to railways; interior design; cab design; use of fibreglass; HST timescale; his connection to the design; success of the project; archive relating to the design; talking through sketches.

Kenneth Grange interviewed by Ellen Tait

2013
Oral history interview with Donald Heath, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the interviewee's home in the East Riding of Yorkshire on 17 October 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 46 min. 2 sec. Early Career; British Rail (BR) Research track stability; development of stone blower; drop joints; relationships with other departments; Planning department British Rail: London Midland Region; Birmingham New Street track layout process; Newton Heath Maintenance Depot; programmes planning; development of networks critical path analysis; Signalling & Telecommunications (S&T) reluctance; rules of the route for possessions; over-runs factors; Manchester Central Area tunnel scheme development 1972; passenger transport executive (PTE); Transmark project in Tehran 1976-1980; Deputy Director Major Projects; Project Director East Coast Main Line (ECML) electrification; project progress; project scale; development of computerised management information systems; Durham Viaduct; Berwick-upon-Tweed; impact of organisational changes; first through electric train London to Edinburgh July 1991; Crossrail; failed Bill 1992; submission withdrawn 1993; retirement; consultancy; reflections

Donald Heath interviewed by Frank Paterson (Session 1 of 2)

2018-10-17
Oral history interview with Alan Deboo, conducted and recorded by David Maidment at the interviewee's home in Wiltshire on 22 September 2020. Duration: 1 hr. 9 min. 41 sec. Early career; joined British Rail (BR) as Personnel Manager 1989; culture comparison; Organising for Quality (OfQ); policies; communications; bargaining; Cannon Street accident; support after accidents; privatisation; travel benefits; advising government; Travel Facilities Working Party; pensions and redundancy arrangements; communication with staff and trade unions; Ministry of Defence; redundancy support package; train operating company (TOC) profits; culture comparison; temporary companies; scale of work; BR sports facilities; advising government on change in trade union bargaining power due to fragmentation

Alan Deboo interviewed by David Maidment

2020-09-22
Oral history interview with David E. Rayner, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the interviewee's home in York on 2 May 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 42 min. 59 sec. Personal background; early career; Personal Assistant to David Bowick; Saatchi & Saatchi advertising; encouragement from Peter Parker; Deputy General Manager British Rail: Eastern Region 1985; British Rail: Anglia Region; electrification; Donald Heath; Board Member British Railways Board (BRB); Managing Director Engineering & Operations; British Transport Police (BTP); sectorisation; Clapham accident issues; King’s Cross fire; Safety Directorate established; Clapham accident Hidden Report; quality management ; David Maidment; foundation of penalty regime; Brian Burdsall; audit of re-organisation processes; Bob Reid 2 attitude to privatisation 1991; separation of trains and track feasibility; formation of shadow Railtrack John Welsby; Safety Cases; Health & Safety Executive (HSE) involvement; Railtrack floatation; Bob Horton; John Edmonds; analysis of recommendations from railway accident inquiries; Railtrack culture; train operating companies (TOC) management; composition of Railtrack Board; Gerald Corbett; privatisation achieved due to John Welsby; relationships with trade unions on safety; managerial responses; minimal involvement with Department of Transport (DoT); Board membership; personal reflections on privatisation

David Rayner interviewed by Frank Paterson

2018-05-02
Oral history interview with Michael Siebert, conducted and recorded by David Maidment at the interviewee's home in Reading on 9 June 2021. Duration: 1 hr. 49 min. 16 sec. Education, early career; 1974 Health & Safety Act; fire and explosion expert for Health and Safety Executive (HSE); joined British Rail (BR) as Head of Safety Audit 1990; health and safety development in railways; railway safety regulations; train accident investigation; Career as chemist in private industry and Health & Safety Executive, safety audit with fire & explosion specialism, joined BR to develop safety audit post Clapham accident. Implemented Safety Audit and Safety Validation process on BR pre privatisation and used these systems within Railtrack Safety Case to validate and audit privatised railway companies. Part of massive change of safety culture between 1990 and 1995 pre privatisation.

Michael Siebert interviewed by David Maidment

2021-06-09
Oral history interview with Mike Crabtree, conducted and recorded by David Maidment at the interviewee's home in Crewe on 29 May 2018. Duration: 2 hr. 17 min. 24 sec. Personal career; early career; Acting Superintendent Doncaster Works 1979; building Class 56s; Superintendent of Wagon Works 1980-1984; Works re-organisation; British Rail Engineering Ltd (BREL); British Rail Maintenance Ltd (BRML); BREL privatisation; sectorisation; new contract systems; staff benefits concerns; BREL management buyout (MBO) preparation and involvement; Production Manager British Railways Board (BRB); Level 5 Maintenance Depots preparation for privatisation; financial arrangements; General Manager of Departmental Traffic; preparation for privatisation; MBO; three freight companies set-up; personal situation 1994; Fleet Manager for Trainload Freight South East: MBO; Mainline Freight MBO; split of locomotive and wagon repairs management; National Power; wagon policy; MBO progress; management style; Wisconsin Central; Ed Burkhardt; English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS); Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate (HMRI); new organisation; Scottish depots; scope for action under privatisation; staff reductions

Mike Crabtree interviewed by David Maidment

2018-05-29
Oral history interview with Peter Field, conducted and recorded by Theo Steel at the interviewee's home in Surrey on 8 May 2018. Duration: 2 hr. 24 min. 20 sec. Personal background; early career; Assistant Station Manager Liverpool Street; area management; working with Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF); Gordon Pettitt; industrial relations changes; Network Director Eastern Liverpool Street; Chris Green; transfer of responsibilities from Regions; King's Lynn and Royston – Cambridge electrification scheme approvals; Operations Manager British Rail: Southern Region; splitting region; vertical integration; John Nelson; Organising for Quality (OfQ); preparation for privatisation; culture change; early years of Railtrack; John Edmonds (Chief Executive Officer Railtrack); contrast between management buyout (MBO) bid and Stagecoach bid; MBO team; exposing London, Tilbury & Southend (LTS) ticket fraud; rolling stock companies (ROSCOs); Stagecoach; BR forecasting issues; move into consultancy; joined Transport for London (TfL) as Rail Strategy Director; political issues; difficulties with train operating companies (TOCs) and lack of Mayoral control; fare evasion levels in TOCs; North London line to TfL and expansion; structuring of TfL concessions; retirement

Peter Field interviewed by Theo Steel

2018-05-08
Oral history interview with Christopher Bolt, conducted and recorded by Christopher Austin on 3 July 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 19 min. 43 sec. Early career; founding of Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR); regulation; privatisation model shortcomings; Railtrack shortcomings; franchising; roles of the Regulator; incentive models; Subsidies; political influence on ORR; John Swift (Rail Regulator); public sector collaboration; Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) shortcomings; ORR management structure; Chief Economist responsibilities; time as Interim Regulator; Tom Winsor; Informed Traveller project; Adviser to Transport Select Committee; Gwyneth Dunwoody (Member of Parliament); Railtrack collapse; Metronet collapse; Passenger Upgrade 2 (PUG 2); Network Rail; rebrand to Office of Rail Regulation (ORR); resolution of T-12 problem; effects of unexpected industry growth; rail freight problems; Network Rail asset management shortcomings; rail safety responsibilities; Greyrigg accident

Christopher Bolt interviewed by Christopher Austin

2018-07-03
Oral history interview with Leslie Smith, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the interviewee's home in Edinburgh on 5 December 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 36 min. 10 sec. Career overview; freight marketing posts; Managing Director Trainload Freight (TLF); cost reductions; TFL profit subsidised Railfreight Distribution (RfD) losses; separation of freight; implementation processes; management buyouts (MBOs); Wisconsin Central bid; internal movement of engineering materials; English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS); Ed Burkhardt (Chief Executive Officer); Ian Braybrook (Managing Director); reversed strategy; open access; Foster Yeoman; Charterail; National Power contract; private owner wagons; Section 8 grants; Merehead Quarry; Class 59; financial improvements; retirement

Leslie Smith interviewed by Frank Paterson

2019-12-05
Video oral history interview with Richard Morris, conducted and recorded remotely by Neil Butters on Zoom video conferencing platform, on 8 March 2022. Duration: 51 minutes 18 seconds. Education; family history; holiday jobs; other job applications; training school Derby; [00:05:00] Tinsley marshalling yard Sheffield; review of board operations; punctuality at Liverpool St; move to Eurotunnel; [00:10:00] Privatisation, enthusiasm for privatisation; cannot sever train from track; no-one in charge; spoke to John Major; guards story; [00:15:00] negotiations on Channel Tunnel; issues with Bob Reid 1; freight through the tunnel; engineering in tunnel; simulator; impact of Brexit and Covid-19 on traffic; [00:20:00] approach to take over a Train Operating Company (TOC); financial challenges; privatisation antagonistic at higher levels; a lot of investment with privatisation; [00:25:00] electrification to Bath; first franchise to Chiltern was 20 years giving time to expand; later franchises were 7-8 years which were not so good; fire in Eurotunnel; [00:30:00] interview with Adrian Shooter; fire at Marylebone signal box; staff entrants in 1970’s; Bristol signal Box; [00:35:00] after organisation dividing it now looks like it is coming together; Romney Hythe and Dymchurch safety; after privatisation no-one in charge; accidents at Clapham and Potters Bar; lessons from other countries; Finland and Melbourne; [00:40:00] Delay Attribution Board, who was responsible for delays; Williams report; representative of TOC’s and Railtrack; Schedule 8; driven by money not by pride; [00:45:00] future of Delay Attribution Board, unique to UK; involvement in safety on Romney Hythe and Dymchurch; [00:50:00] TOPS (Total Operations Processing System) [00:51:18] [end of interview]

Richard Morris interviewed by Neil Butters

2022-03-08
Oral history interview with Roger Salmon, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the interviewee's home in Cambridge on 30 October 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 41 min. 5 sec. Banking career; headhunted for first Director of Rail Franchising 1992; recruitment; setting-up team; personality analysis; Department of Transport attitudes; objectives; first draft franchise agreement rejected; Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF) team working practices differences from civil service culture; network of contract documents; rolling stock issues; Andrew Pitt; Railtrack track access difficulties; British Rail (BR) good relationship with OPRAF; relationship with Department of Transport (DoT) and Treasury; documentation; breakdown of processes; Thameslink 2000; Allison Ingram; development of Schedule 8 performance concepts

Roger Salmon interviewed by Frank Paterson

2019-10-30
train timing; junior clerk; traffic apprentice; deputy head of section; timetable manager; passenger movements; terminal time measurement; timetables; childhood, background, school; starting work, train timing; special trains; traffic apprentice; Beeching; Norwich; Sheffield; resignalling at Leeds; passenger operating; Broomhouse Tunnel; football; modernisation; resignalling; punctuality; HSTs; Leeds; domestic circumstances; computing; closure of Leeds division, reorganisation; timetable manager; business involvement; reorganisation; freight timetabling; privatisation; d.o.b. 1940-05-09, railway work 1958-1998, Norwich; Sheffield; Leeds; York. 3.1496 x 2.8346 x .315 in.

Wrottesley, David

2001-05-17
footplate, bar lad, cleaner, fireman; leaving school, aged 14; starting work at a baker's; joining railway, bar lad, Buxton; progression through cleaner, passed cleaner; fireman, Buxton; experience working heavy trains over steep gradients; National Service; severe weather conditions, 1947; involvement in many different incidents; fireman in exhibit in National Railway Museum; member of Midland Railway Preservation Society; father's job, a driver, his railway experiences; d.o.b. 1929-07-21, railway work 1944-1953, Buxton. 3.1496 x 2.8346 x .315 in.

Palfreyman, Brian

2000-11-13
junior clerk; booking office; parcels; stationmaster; goods agent; traffic apprentice; traffic department, market research; area manager; planning department; traffic, sugar beet; Transmark; Eurostar; d.o.b. 1925-05-04, railway work 1940-1982, Kettering; Glendon; Rushton; Donnington; Llanbister Road; Peplow; Calvely; Whitchurch; Nottingham; Derby; Birmingham; Spon Lane; Soho; Paddington; Portsmouth; Waterloo; Bricklayers' Arms parcels depot; Victoria; Gatwick; Guildford; Melbourne, Australia; Iraq; Houston, USA; Hong Kong; Botswana; Zimbabwe. 3.1496 x 2.8346 x .315 in.

Simmonds, Dennis

2001-07-06
apprentice fitter; railway cottages; 9 shop; 50 ton cranes; handrail work; conditions of work; working with asbestos, illness; 0-8-0 locomotives; trade union; d.o.b. 1925-02-12, railway work 1941-1946, Crewe Works; London Midland Scottish Railway (LMSR); 2.8346 x 3.1496 x .315 in.

Jones, Vera

2003-01-30
clerk; invoices, goods; passenger refunds; claims work; travelling ticket bureau; efficiency commissions; d.o.b. 1929-10-15, railway work 1929-1973, Nine Elms Goods Depot; Wimbledon Goods; Kingston Goods; Waterloo; Woking; Marylebone. 3.1496 x 2.8346 x .315 in.

Greenfield, Harry Thomas (Tom)

2001-06-26
footplate; knocker-up; engine cleaner; mutual improvement class; firing; driver; Second World War; diesel and electric traction training; royal trains; Travelling Post Office; d.o.b. 1920, railway work 1938-1983, Kittybrewster; Fraserburgh; Macduff; York; Aberdeen; Ferryhill; Edinburgh; Haddington; Polmont; Usan; Longmorn; Montrose; Ballater; St Combs; Cairnie Junction;

Adam, John

2001-05-02
junior clerk; Royal Engineers; clerk; staff clerk; uniform stores; Revenue protection Section; conductor guards; Chief Ticket Inspector ER; Revenue Protection Officer; ticket machines; Terminals and Standards Manager; railway work 1952-1994, Middleton-in-Teesdale; Hull; Longmoor; Darlington; Middlesbrough; Tees Yard; Stooperdale; York; Leeds; Eastern Region;

Kidd, Dennis

2001-06-21
permanent way; relay gang; length gang; ballast cleaner operator; d.o.b. 1932-06-15, railway work 1954-1994, Taunton; Oxford; Penzance; Fishguard; Shrewsbury; Paddington; Durston; Exeter; Exmouth Junction;

Smith, Roy

2001-05-08
lad porter; carriage cleaner; porter signalman; break of service; signalling; traffic management and supervisory; station manager; Uniform, messenger; working hours; National Union of Railwaymen (NUR), sick fund, pension arrangements; Sir Brian Robertson; methods of carriage cleaning, external, internal; fruit traffic, football specials; gas lamps; ticket issue arrangements; slate system for tickets; types of signalling, examination permissive/absolute working; crossing fire, discipline; local union representative, Local Departmental Committee (LDC); hours of working; incident with mail train; industrial action; railway correspondence course, steam lance; rail incidents, fatal, Diesel Multiple Units (DMU); withdrawal of InterCity line, line closure; Closure of offices; class 47 derailment, safety; staff relations; Sealink; Sir Peter Parker; ferry sailing supervisor; d.o.b. 1932-08-13, railway work: 1947-1992, New Holland, Dock, Pier; Doncaster; Hull; East Lincolnshire; Barrow Haven; Barton; Immingham West Junction; Oxmarsh Crossing; New Bridge Street; Suggetts Lane Signal Box; Grimsby; Cleethorpes; Barnetby West; Northorpe; Great Coates; Habrough; Pasture Street box; Sealink;

Guilliat, Fred

2002-08-07; 2002-08-17;
civil engineer; Transmark; UIC; investment and planning; Channel Tunnel, sectorisation; consultancy; d.o.b. 1935-03-09, railway work 1957-1990. 3.1496 x 2.8346 x .315 in.

Alexander, Nicholas John Bennett

2001-08-14
traffic apprentice; Royal Engineers; assistant yard master; station master; chief trains clerk; area manager; marketing officer; passenger sales planning; passenger fares; chief passenger manager; retail manager; d.o.b. 1935-07-12, railway work 1958-1990, Barnsley; Wath Marshalling Yard; Darnall; Peterborough; Rotherham Yard; Spalding; Newcastle; Dundee; BRB Headquarters London;

Chamberlain, Alan

2001-04-17
booking office clerk; motive power depot clerk; traffic apprentice; supervisor; grant aid statistical analysis; coaching and rolling stock assistant; carriage maintenance manager; d.o.b. 1938, railway work 1955-1994, Edinburgh; Newington; Duddingston; East Fortune; Shotts; Morningside Road; Waterloo Place; Craiglockhart; Waverley; Polmont; Dalry Road; Glasgow; Greenock. 3.1496 x 2.8346 x .315 in.

MacLean, A.A. (Sandy)

2001-07-04
clerk; Control; dieselisation; Area Manager; royal train; reorganisation; incidents; junior clerk, Wadebridge, 1951; clerk; Plymouth, fog operations; controller; Assistant Station Master; Reading; steam/diesel transition; weather; GW/GC joint line; Southall; Reading; staff relations; safety; Reading; fatalities; Westbury; Area Manager; Shenfield; Area Manager, Waterloo; Lord Mountbatten's funeral; royal train; newspaper traffic; Waterloo headquarters; two-tier reorganisation; Clapham accident, inquiry; Hidden Report; consultancy, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Singapore, New Zealand; d.o.b. 1936-07-26 railway work 1951-1999. Wadebridge; Plymouth; Reading; Shenfield; Waterloo; Clapham. 3.1496 x 2.8346 x .315 in.

Adams, Trevor G.

2000-08-04
cleaner; passed cleaner; fireman; passed fireman; driver; train crew supervisor, manager; relief manager; description of work; export coal; import fruit and vegetables; engineers trains; sleeper depots; "pick-up" freight trains; theatre specials; excursions; Beeching cuts; loan experience; night freight; link to link promotion; lodgings; Yorkshire, Tyne Tees Pullman; "Elizabethan"; oiling central motions, Gresley Pacifics; socialising; marriage; Deltics; shunting; piloting; promotion, relief link; rail car; signalling exam; driver only operation; platform security; relief manager; signalbox fire; station cleaning; delayed passengers; track cleaning; suicides; redundancy; d.o.b. 1932-01-01, railway work 1947-1989, Boston; Mablethorpe; Peterborough; Skegness; Neasden; Old Oak Common; King's Cross; Hull; Edinburgh; Hitchin; Broxholme; Darlington; Brighton; Aldrington; Watford; London North Eastern Railway (LNER);

Clarke, Peter Brinkley

2003-04-14
footplate; greaser boy; engine cleaner; fireman; driver; dieselisation; royal trains; single manning; depot closures; d.o.b. 1931-01-13, railway work 1945-1993, Exmouth Junction; Yeoford freight yard; Exeter St David's; Old Oak Common; Pinhoe; Cowley Bridge; Starcross;

Munson, Charles P.

2001-04-19; 2001-04-26;
junior clerical posts; clerical posts (staff section); sundries division; National Carriers Limited (NCL); industral relations officer; London North Eastern Railway (LNER); goods inward; train ferry, vegetable traffic; night shift; Vacancy List; horse section Southern Area; cartage and deliveries, horse shunting dities; traffic apprenticeship; Staff Office; Traffic Manager's Office; reorganisation, pay and efficiency; rationalisation and transfer; redundancy; d.o.b. 1921-10-24, railway work: 1938-1981, Broad Street; Bishopsgate goods depot; Spitalfields; Covent Garden; Liverpool Street Station; King's Cross; Peterborough; London North Eastern Railway (LNER); London Midland Region (LMR); National Carriers Limited (NCL); Railtrack;

Standen, Frank Charles

2002-11-06
junior clerk; assistant yard master; traffic apprentice; assistant stationmaster; stationmaster; depot manager; goods traffic; cartage; accounts; sundries division; road traffic; National Carriers Ltd; Freightliners; mail order; security; newspaper distribution; operations manager; mechanised handling; National Freight Carriers; Lynx Express; privatisation; director of quality; d.o.b. 1936-01-31, railway work: 1951-1967, left road freight business: 1990, National Carriers Ltd; Freightliners; National Freight Carriers; Lynx Express; Woolworths; Transport Salaried Staff Association; Marks & Spencer; British Railways Engineering Ltd; Great Universal Stores; Gratton; freeman; White Arrow; Post Office; Rail Express Parcels; International Publishing Corporation; National Union of Railwaymen; Initial Services; London Zoo; TNT; United Carriers; Hunslet, Leeds; Healey Mills, Leeds; Laisterdyke; Smeeton; Neville Hill; Melton Mowbray; Blackburn; Burnley; Manchester; Leicester; Hull; York; London; Silvertown depot; Leeds; High Wycombe; Birmingham; Blackpool; Belfast;

Oliver, Cyril

2002-07-03; 2002-07-24;
d.o.b. 1937-06-29 railway work c.1952-1981

Guiel, William Edward

2001-09-15
footplate; fireman; driver; train crew inspector; Area Signals Inspector; Acting Operations Manager; West Coast Main Line; 1925-07-23, railway work 1942-1984, Bury; Manchester Lonsight; Watford; Bletchley. 3.1496 x 2.8346 x .315 in.

Walker, Joseph

2001-05-15
fitter; supervisor; depot engineer; traction rolling stock engineer; terminal support engineer; assistant rolling stock engineer; production engineer; freight; technical traction riding inspector; reorganisations; dieselisation; demarcation between grades; breakdown crane; incentive bonus scheme; Pullman cars; 1984-85 miners' strike; d.o.b. 1935-11-15, railway work 1966-1993, Rotherham Technical College; Tinsley; Redditch, Manchester; Ollerton; Hull Botanic Gardens; Sheffield; Wath; Derby; Darnall; Channel Tunnel;

Phillips, Christopher John

2001-10-29
footplate; relief running foreman; train crew supervisor; father, a village blacksmith and farrier; childhood; school; travel; early interest in railways; cinema car on express trains; leaving school aged 14; worked for father for 3 years, as could not join railway until 18 years old; railway entrance exam; medical; experiences as an engine cleaner; December 1940, became a passed cleaner; seniority; Second World War experiences; trade union membership; transport to work, housing, lodgings; 1944 became a regular fireman; memories as a fireman; fireman on Kings Cross route; first driving turns; Pullman cars, "blanked" off brakes; diesel training; practical training; steam, diesels, Deltics, HSTs; single manning; domestic life during footplate career; relief running foreman, relief panel; relief train crew supervisor; training at Crewe; reminiscences; 1922-11-24, railway work 1940-1985. 3.1496 x 2.8346 x .315 in.

Day, Charles Reginald

2001-05-24
railway family; Second World War; lost property; station work; stationhouse; railway community; nationalisation; traffic apprentice; travelling inspector; special investigations; rolling stock; reorganisation, divisions; staff policy; modernisation, West Coast Main Line; electrification; East Coast Main Line; shipping division; chief passenger manager; sectorisation, business management; disability provision; investment panel; promotion of Scotland; auditors; d.o.b. 1932, railway work: 1958-1987, London Midland Region; Eastern Region; Scottish Region; Great North Eastern Railway (GNER); Caledonian Steam Packet Company; New Cumnock; Cassillis; Ayr; Dunlop; Aspatria; Dumfries; Stranraer; Carlisle; Dundee; Larne; Belfast; Loch Ryan; Inverness; Edinburgh; Glasgow;

Gibson, Fergus

2002-01-29
Oral history interview with Trevor Davies recorded and conducted by Robert Aitchison on 28 April 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration 24 minutes 34 seconds. Leaving school, joining drawing office at Shildon railway works, start apprenticeship in pattern shop, making own patterns; conscription to parachute regiments for 2 years [00:05:00]; meeting new apprentice John Dowson; introduction of epoxy resins; repair to Timothy Hackworth statue; repair of mahogany base of cup won by West Auckland in footballs first World Cup [00:10:00]; closure of Shildon railway works, parade; nationalisation of railways; impact of Shildon works closure on town, mood, good working condition [00:15:00]; good machinery, merry-go-round wagons, moved to brick works [00:20:00:00]; Shildon works good management; social life in Shildon, football club, successful children [00:24:34] [end of interview]

Trevor Davies interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-04-28
messenger; accounts clerk; office outings; office social activities; trade union; Railway Women's Guild; d.o.b. 1936-04-06, railway work 1951-1969, Colwick Yard; Nottingham;

Pickett, Vera (nee Foulger)

2001-09-19
traffic apprentice; supernumerary assistant to district passenger manager, then district goods manager; assistant yard master; assistant head of freight, Eastern Region; traffic manager; works assistant; bulk terminals manager; freight planning manager; chief operating manager's department; rail travel, Second World War; accountancy; training; nationalisation; marshalling yards; managing style; coal traffic; reorganisation; merry-go-round working; steel traffic; Total Operations Processing System (TOPS); trade union impact; privatisation; d.o.b. 1921-12-21, railway work: 1949-1983, London and North Eastern Railway; British Rail; Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB); National Coal Board (NCB); British Rail Eastern Region; British Rail North Eastern Region; Freightliner; Speedlink; Hadley Wood accountancy school; Bishop's Stortford; Sheffield Victoria station; Ipswich; Grimsby; Eastern Region headquarters, London Liverpool Street; York; Gascoigne Wood, Selby; Toton; Aire Valley; Knottingley; London King's Cross;

McCarter, Charles

2002-
footplate, cleaner; fireman; Second World War work conditions; trade unions, ASLEF; mutual improvement class instructor; dieselisation; d.o.b. 1927-01-29, railway work 1943-1992, Darnall; Woodhead tunnel; Kentish Town hostel; Doncaster Carr locomotive depot;

Whitehead, Kenneth

2001-11-27
draughtsman; drawing office; surveys; permanent way; Royal Engineers; civil engineering; Arthur Dean; tampers; payment by results; canteen facilities; work study; operating development; staff recruitment; branch line investigations, Barbara Castle; Br Beeching; reorganisations; Woking Staff College; freight; TOPS; planning systems; trade unions; Freightliner; computerisation; financial control; Price Waterhouse investigation; BRB management style; business sector management; Transaid; d.o.b. 1931-11-16, railway work 1948-1987, Bradford; Barnsley; Farnborough; Germany; Wakefield; Harrogate; York; Hull; Newcastle; Carlisle; Alston; Robin Hood's Bay; London; Watford; Stratford; Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa;

Linney, Peter

2001-03-07
management trainee; Assistant Area Manager; Area Terminals Manager; Area Operations Manager; coal & mineral marketing; Area Manager; regional politics, Wales; privatisation; d.o.b. 1953, railway work 1975-2001, Dewsbury; Fort William; Mount Florida; Doncaster; Leicester; Nottingham; Cardiff; Thames & Chiltern; Thames Valley; Sweden;

McDonald, Roger

2001-02-26
labourer, permanent way; sub-ganger; ganger; pre-assembly ganger; work study; civil engineering planning; divisional chief inspector, permanent way; staff suggestion sheme; d.o.b. 1924-07-02, railway work 1957-1984, Germany; Waterloo; Okehampton; Launceston; Yeoford Junction; Tisbury; Yeovil Junction; Three Bridges; Stuttgart, Germany; Lingfield; Crawley; Croydon; Brighton; East Grinstead; Redhill; Tonbridge; Balcombe;

Schrade, Karl Friedrich

2001-10-31
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
Craft apprentice at Meols Cop car sheds, Southport; start date 1943-05-10; electrical fitter for 4 months; Drawing Office at Formby Power Station; Lancaster - Morecambe - Heysham; integration of power supplies on Mersey / Wirral railways; training at English Electric, Preston and Bradford; Assistant Electric Traction Engineer, North London; Stonebridge Park Power Station; Electric Traction Engineer, Manchester; Manchester -Bury, Manchester-Altrincham electric services; Woking Management Course 12; Electrification Engineer, Glasgow; Airdrie-Helensburgh services; South Clyde electrification; Law Junction Depot; Divisional Maintenance Engineer, London; Traction Maintenance Engineer, BR HQ; service problems working groups; Chief Mechanical and Electrical Engineer, York; High Speed Trains; retired in 1983, returned to Southport; The Shaftesbury Society; Christian Faith and involvement with Church; visits to Nigeria and Brazil; involvement with Channel Tunnel; d.o.b 1928-01-25, Railway Service 1943 to 1983. Dick Kerr and Company; English Electric; Barclays, Kilmarnock; Meols Cop; Southport; Horwich Works; Formby Power Station; Manchester; Glasgow; Greenock; Wemyss Bay; Marylebone; Euston; Derby; York;

Sourbut, John Alan

2005-01-27
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