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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 Philip O'Donnell, conducted and recorded by Peter Willey at the interviewee's home in Buckinghamshire on 20 March 2018. Duration: 56 min. 26 sec. Career overview; highlights; cultural change from Civil Service to British Rail; radical vision for structure; rail privatisation compared with other privatisations; industry structure; Privatisation Unit; importance of track access rights in Department for Transport (DfT) and Treasury model; role of the Rail Regulator over charges and contracts; definition of track access rights; designing the contractual arrangements from scratch; role of DfT; industry re-organisation 1992; emergence of Railtrack management structure; flotation of Railtrack in 1996; role of the Rail Regulator; effect of cultural change on people; involvement in West Coast Mainline (WCML) upgrade; dedication of colleagues; shift from contraction to growth; reflections on privatisation

Philip O'Donnell interviewed by Peter Willey

2018-03-20
Oral history interview with Alan Willis conducted and recorded by Alison Kay on 13 November 2014, at the National Railway Museum. Duration: 31 minutes. Alan Willis’ father was George Owen Willis (GW), born in Bromwich, Midlands in 1896, who was a train ambulance employee in World War 1. He worked on British trains only and not on trains on the continent. Alan Willis (AW) recounts the work of his father on ambulance trains. Childhood and family background of George Willis. How GW joined the war efforts in the ambulances, Royal Army Medical Core; photographs taken by GW; how GW recounted working on ambulance train to AW; work of GW on ambulance trains, how wounded were loaded on ambulance trains at Dover; relationships and socialisation with others on the ambulance trains; air raids impact on ambulance train, more risks in Dover; GW being promoted to Sargent; no death on board the train; how they dealt with infectious diseases, barrier nursing; shell shocked soldiers; medical orderlies on trains, nurses; how serious and less serious cases were placed on board of train; operations likely done on continental trains, not on UK ambulance trains; living on board the train; how GW met is future wife; after the war, GW career at health department Bournemouth, barrier nursing; whether GW kept in touch with people met on ambulance train, meeting Wilfred Owen; what AW remembers of a book of messages and drawings from ambulance trains patients and colleagues which has been lost

Alan Willis interviewed by Alison Kay

2014-11-13
Oral history interview with Tony Steadman conducted and recorded by Claire Cohen on 19 June 2012, at the National Railway Museum. Duration: 1 hour 11 minutes. [Track 01] Background, birth [00:00:36] [end of track 01] [Track 02] Initial involvement with National Railway Museum; volunteer group emanating from friends of museum; interviewed by Dr Lowe [00:02:30] [end of track 02] [Track 03] his occupations and availability [00:01:00] [end of track 03] [Track 04] how he heard of volunteering at museum; Dr Lowe’s interview; organised rosters; 1990 concrete degradation in Great Hall; station hall opened; he was asked to be coordinator in 1990; continued till 2000 [00:04:48] [end of track 04] [Track 05] 1990, 1950’s concrete was deteriorating, clearing Great Hall of artefacts; moved to Great Railway Show and NRM on tour; Mallard moved to Swindon; move lasted a year; [00:05:00] John Coiley retired in 1992; changes in museum, Great Hall technical and Station Hall social [00:08:24] [end of track 05] [Track 06] Bill Greenwood asked Tony to be volunteer coordinator; relationship between volunteers and staff; [00:05:00] Information Point started 1992; Tuesday night team with Richard Gibbon; ad hoc activities; Chris Allender and Clare Evans involvement; first duty on miniature railway in 1995 [00:10:27] [end of track 06] [Track 07] creation of volunteer committee, deciding projects; Miniature railway; Bob Gwynne visited America; introduced awards for volunteer service; incentive to keep volunteering; Matt Hick and Christmas dinner with awards; NMSI at forefront of volunteering; staff and volunteers; short term contracts for museum staff [00:11:18] [end of track 07] [Track 08] comparison of security staff then and now (2012); Tony stepped down in 2010; volunteer trips arranged from 1998; NYMR with Great Western saloon; [00:05:00] Matt Hick arranged trips, volunteers outings, first one to York station, Cedar Grand, St Pancras; [00:10:00] Tony now organises trips; Railfest, crisis management; [00:15:00] best part of volunteering is management and training; Worse moment was with A4’s and rain in the North Yard; Andrew Scott; [00:20:00] changes in Health and Safety over the years; public announcements over time; [00:25:00] Personal information, secrecy; best of time was relaxing away from work; value of volunteer work worth to the museum; letters of appreciation [00:31:33] [end of track 08] [end of interview]

Tony Steadman interviewed by Claire Cohen

2012-06-19
Oral history interview with Don Collins conducted and recorded by Tony Steadman on 22 January 2015 at the interviewee’s home. Duration: 34 minutes. How he started volunteering at NRM, interest in railways, involvement with Friends of NRM (FNRM); Information Points, managed by Clare Evans; started volunteering in 1995; career as civil servant, worked at Chilwell, moved to York; [00:05:00] volunteer recruitment interview with Clare Evans, social aspects of volunteering; knowledge of railways; training with visitor experience courses; [00:10:00] evacuation instruction; miniature railway; training with Richard Gibbon; diesel hydraulic power; [00:15:00] difficult to start engine; took over roster; top and tail with two locomotives and two crew; very flexible volunteers; [00:20:00] new layout needed more drivers; started in 2015; [break in recording] trained as a guard; passed stricter exams for guarding; [00:25:00] Volunteer Awards event at Christmas; relationship with explainers, not so much affinity now due to their change in role; [00:30:00] help from staff in early days; not so much now; 20 years a volunteer; change in ways volunteers are managed, supervised, now use team leaders [00:34:12] [end of interview]

Don Collins interviewed by Tony Steadman

2015-01-22
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
Oral history interview with John Charlesworth conducted and recorded by Tony Steadman on 24 February 2015, in the mess room of the Miniature Railway team at the National Railway Museum. Duration: 34 minutes. How he was introduced to railways; volunteering at Middleton Railway; member of the Friends of the National Railway Museum (FNRM), joined in 1977 on information points; rigidity of staff at museum; 1985 helped with work on Tuesday night restoring the Duchess of Hamilton locomotive (DOH); [00:05:00] career, worked on maintenance at power stations, hot riveting and air drills, lived in Selby; 1988 footplate ride on Green Arrow; support crew on DOH on main line; [00:10:00] miniature railway and working with public, Richard Gibbon, increased numbers, driver training for miniature railway, started charging, change, replacement of tracks; [00:15:00] miniature railway originally thought of as a toy, changed when charges came in; Deltic introduced on miniature railway, run round; 2014 rebuild; volunteer age differences; [00:20:00] recruitment of new drivers; outside examiners; everyone a driver; difficult passengers; [00:25:00] cataloguing with John Peck; drawing of accident; preparing standard gauge locomotives; fireman during day; [00:30:00] not so much to do at present, commenting on open spaces in Station Hall; believes there is potential for more volunteer involvement; enjoyed volunteering [ 00:34:14] [end of interview]

John Charlesworth interviewed by Tony Steadman

2015-02-24
Oral history interview with Wilfred Owen Fripp conducted and recorded by Colin Divall on 9 January 2013, at the Priest's House Museum, Wimborne, Dorset, in presence of one of the trustees of the Priest’s House Museum. Duration: 42 minutes. The interview focuses on Owen Fripp’s work experiences on the railways between 1962 and 1968, as well as his railway passenger experiences. Personal background; working on the railways; why joined railways, people OF knew on railways, train spotter, school details, friend Roy Roberts (signal box boy), further train spotting details, details of how got railway job, job start 28th December 1962; [00:05:00] job details; Bournemouth Central based, travel from home to Bournemouth, cleaner until aged 16 years, fireman with Johnny Walker, difficulties recruiting firemen in mid 1960’s; [00:07:30] first trip made on Corfe goods train; Johnny Walker memories, journey details, fireman job easy because of fitness, enjoyable; [00:09:30] wages, cleaner’s pay 84 shillings, 112 shillings when passed as a fireman (aged 16 years); further career details; moved up when vacancies occurred, quick development as people retired; [00:11:00] jobs done as a fireman; Wessex to Weymouth and mail train return, “old” engine drivers work, trains into Wimborne, Waterloo trips, Temple Coombe train; [00:13:50] highlights/lowlights of a trip; Brockenhurst trip with 82000 tank engine, engine replacements, details of working train from West round the Old Road, goods train working out of Poole; [00:16:10] shunting at Wimborne; easy station to work, workers at Wimborne listed; OF’s experience of Wimborne, signalmen at Wimborne, details of shunting movements, Salisbury goods trains workings, Wimborne goods yards workings, lot of goods workings, abattoir details, cattle traffic from Wimborne; [00:23:50] fuel depot at West Moors; loose coupled trains, details of workings, depot had private shunters; [00:25:20] leaving the railway after steam trains ended, last turn was boat train to Waterloo 31st August 1967, left because there was no work, no redundancies, did not mind leaving the railways; [00:27:10] Clinker siding at Wimborne; no memories, memories of clinker at Bournemouth Central good shed; [00:28:00] Winter of 1963 memories; use of fires to stop water freezing in engines, trains ran to time, Wimborne incidents (including derailment); [00:30:40] early morning train to Eastleigh; 5.15 am train, detail of working, popular train, Sunday running, use of Black 5 locomotive; [00:33:40] Beeching Report (March 1963); reaction, petition, no effect, census taking, redundancies, rail removal; [00:36:00] other information; not many women workers, bookstall on station (1950’s), started shift work on 16th birthday, own motorised transport, people worked with in Wimborne, more on Wimborne derailment, Wimborne was “a happy station” [00:42:29] [end of interview]

Owen Fripp interviewed by Colin Divall

2013-01-09
Oral history interview with Gwen Divall conducted and recorded by Colin Divall on 13 April 2006, in Swilland, Suffolk. The interviewee is the interviewer’s mother. This is the second and last session of the interview. Duration: 1 hour 53 minutes. The interview focuses on Gwen Divall passenger experiences on the railways and other forms of mobility, especially during the period between the First and Second World Wars. After 1945, post Second World War (WW2); WW2 years; bus travel; no limits to personal movement; [00:05:00] cycling after school; trip to Stratford on Avon and Isle of Wight and Youth Hostels; [00:10:00] bus to Epping Forest; train to teacher training college alone; Hereford college by train via Paddington; long distance coach cheaper; from accommodation to campus by coach; experience at rural school by bike; [00:15:00] traveling to Liverpool and Durham to NUS conference by train; cycling to Penzance on YHA trip; lorries to Symonds Yat; [00:20:00] entertainment in Hereford; travel not paid; applied for teaching jobs at Middlesex County Hall; put at school in London; [00:25:00] walking to school and living at home; mother doing cleaning jobs; [00:30:00] husband cycled and walked; [00:35:00] [interference] train to South Downs; bus then train; water transport; abroad by ferry to Paris; [00:40:00] coach to Nice by charter; mainly university students going to jobs; walking holidays in England and Scotland and Wales; bus to London for diploma in English; [00:45:00] Austria for climbing from a hotel; travel by train; no sleeping car; Italy by train in 1951; Spain in 1952; trains crowded; married in 1955; honeymoon to Brittany; [00:50:00] move to Beaconsfield; husband worked in Maidenhead; GD taught at High Wycombe; cycling to work; used Green Line buses; also trains to London; [00:55:00] local shops used; no car; to hospital by bus; husband worked at DSIR at Datchet; [01:00:00] arrival of baby, train to Eastbourne; bought secondhand car in 1959; father only driver; [01:05:00] Greenline buses to central London; car sharing to work; moved to near Wimborne Dorset; [01:10:00] sports car to Stratford on Avon; bus to town; learnt to drive in 1961; delivery of food; car used more; now two cars; [01:15:00] supply teaching; reasons for buying a second car; walked children to school; Bournemouth main shopping area; [01:20:00] train from Wimborne to London; car to station; laundry; door to door salesmen; entertainment in Colehill; [01:25:00] car to London then public transport; types of cars; Morris Oxford; Triumph Dolomite; [01:30:00] various new cars; kept two cars for a long time; no long distances; moved in 1969 to Coleshill; [01:35:00] long-distance buses to London; from Wimborne; convenient; car not good in London now; choice of Poole or Bournemouth for London; [01:40:00] 1980 first flight abroad; Greece; France; Eurotunnel; hovercraft; father flew earlier with the army; [01:45:00] car travel in the 1960’s; in 1949 father out of work; new job needed train to work; parents from Clerkenwell and St Pancras [01:53:38] [end of interview]

Gwen Divall interviewed by Colin Divall (session 2 of 2)

2006-04-13
Joint oral history interview with Jack Fussey and Ramsey MacCleary conducted and recorded by Tony Steadman on 17 April 2015 at the home of one of the interviewees. Duration: 39 minutes. Both interviewees give their origins of volunteering at the museum; before the outreach group; Derwent 150; [00:05:00] Both give details of their careers as mechanical engineers; [00:10:00] they spoke to each other, and Ramsey joined in around 1996; Jack joined in 1980; on information point; Ramsey was talking to visitors on Friday and Sunday; [00:15:00] volunteers set up the outreach team under Keith; sold railway items and talked about the museum; story of Australian enthusiast; interesting visitor; [00:20:00] visit with museum on Eurostar to Paris organised by Chris Nettleton; in the 1990’s the museum staff took over the information points under Clare Evans; [00:25:00] Cab access events hoping for experienced drivers; enjoyable; Christmas events usually dinners in Station Hall; organised by David Thomas; [00:30:00] allowed to drive steam locos in yard; Jack has recently left volunteers; Ramsey continues; information point has moved, how it has changed over time; Japanese visitor; [00:35:00] volunteering can be very worthwhile and therapeutic [00:38:44] [end of interview]

Jack Fussey and Ramsey MacCleary interviewed by Tony Steadman

2015-01-15
Oral history interview with Bob Cannings conducted and recorded by Chris Kinchin-Smith on 22 November 2019, at the interviewee’s home. Duration: 1 hour 3 minutes. Personal background, family, childhood, school (1936-1939), choir, job at railway station book stall, lad porter, grade 2 porter; Second World War (WW2) blitz memories; [00:04:00] reserved occupation; Salisbury temporary guard; [00:05:00] after WW2, Bristol East shunting 1945; signalman at Freshford 1946, Bath Hampton West 1947, Bath Spa 1949, train details; [00:07:00] railway career evolution, clerical exam 1962, Bath Road Depot, depot work, rostering job 1974; retirement 1990; [00:08:00] reasons for joining railway, interest in railways, wages, no previous family railway members, GWR a good company; [00:09:20] personal views of Nationalisation, not supportive, enjoyed working for British Rail (Great Western), good friends made; [00:10:30] incidents during career; personal views of HS2, Somerset to Dorset lines, dieselisation compared with electrification; [00:13:00] personal life, marriage in 1949, 3 daughters, details about wife, widower in 1995, family details, grandchildren and great grandchildren; activities since retirement, walking, choir member; memories of father, NUR member, staff association; [00:18:50] further incidents when was signalman; replacing bridge in Bath 1959, lorry hitting a bridge incident, 1962 Boxing Day snow memories, Open Days at Bath; [00:22:20] managers and people he worked for, Bath Road, Chief Clerk, Area Manager; interview for rostering Job; most job satisfaction at Freshford, staff and colleagues at Freshford and Bath station; [00:27:00] Bath Spa Signal Box; Paddington, visit and access; [00:28:20] looking at 1959 Bath Spa photograph, taking of the photograph, signal box description, view description; [00:30:30] safety incidents; Bath to Bristol train accident and aftermath; experience as a first aider, first aid competitions, London safety competition; [00:34:00] involvement with collisions/derailments; 3.50 from Chippenham incident, Freshford derailment, 7.45 Paddington to Bristol incident; [00:37:10] other issues, complaints about night trains, coal train incident; [00:39:10] reduction in goods trains; Bath trains; people he met; [00:41:00] working at Salisbury; brake van issues, Westbury problems using a banker, good crowd of colleagues; lodging issues, going home on days off; [00:44:40] memorabilia he kept, GWR watch, signalling manual; [00:46:00] Intercity 125 introduction; “shunt horse” story; fish trains during the War; Indian Army mule train; horsebox traffic; [00:52:30] Bath Station; goods shed, engine shed, inspector’s house, bridge office, canal office, signal and telegraph office; [00:54:00] summing up; retirement, pleased to leave, keeping fit, travelling, memories of Switzerland, visit to USA, visit to Canada, visit to Scandinavia [01:03:17] [end of interview]

Bob Cannings interviewed by Chris Kinchin-Smith

2019-11-22
Oral history interview with Gordon Reed conducted and recorded by Tony Steadman on 24 February 2015, in the mess room of the Miniature Railway team at the National Railway Museum. Duration: 39 minutes. Childhood, Northumberland, old LNER route, early interest in railway, family members working on railways, school; apprenticeship as boiler smith, at Darlington Works 1948; engines built at Darlington works, comparison with Doncaster works; interview for apprenticeship, starting as trade apprenticeship in boiler shop; what was a premium apprenticeship, better education; work as apprentice in boiler shop [00:06:30] National Service, Royal Engineers, railway operated squadron, unit boiler smith; end of National Service, family in Bishop Auckland, 1956, getting a job in a steam shed, people no longer interested to work with steam engines; at age 25 became boiler examiner; meeting future wife, her railway family background [00:10:00] 1960s end of steam, Dr Beeching, closure of railway line through Bishop Auckland, impact on shed, 1964 closure of the steam shed, transfer to depot in Dinsdale, became relayer, then rail welding; explaining relaying work;1965, Leeds district welding inspector; how staff was treated by the railways, different railway staff statuses, high risk and low risk jobs, difference in grades and salaries; life in Leeds, West Riding district, job as district welding inspector; work culture; [00:16:00] 1975 Chief Welding Inspector, York BR Headquarter, until mid 1980s; 1987, starting volunteering at the National Railway Museum, talk with Richard Gibbon, installing permanent way exhibition in Great Hall; volunteering in NRM workshop with John Peck, supervised by Richard Gibbon; joining workshop team, staff and volunteers; differences between boiler exam and boiler inspection; work on O4, 1 day a week volunteering, staying over night in camping coach, change for guest house; emotions of being back in a firebox; [00:21:00] colleague who repaired snow plough at Locomotion; health and safety conditions at beginning of volunteering; relationship with Helen Ashby; presence of security staff at museum; trips with V2; Flying Scotsman boiler work, Scarborough Flyer trips out, footplate days; [00:25:35] Working with Ms Parkinson; Flying Scotsman riveting work, with Charlie Bird, nameplate; challenges around Flying Scotsman repairs; meeting people tanks to volunteering; receiving volunteer award for repairs on City of Truro, Railfest 2012, details of repairs done on boiler with female assistant, trial runs; [00:32:00] West Auckland train, reference to Snowdrift at Bleath Gill British Transport Films; details of job on BR in 1990 before retirement; volunteering one day a week, then fortnightly; [00:34:15] Difference between volunteering front of house or in workshops; current workshop work; ongoing restauration of Flying Scotsman; also volunteering on Keighley and Worth Valley Railway at Haworth [00:38:43] [end of interview]

Gordon Reed interviewed by Tony Steadman

2015-02-24
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
Oral history interview with Glynn Waite conducted and recorded by Bob Gwynne on 22 September 2017 at the National Railway Museum. Duration: 2 hours 9 minutes 25 seconds. [Start of interview, 00:00:00] Joining British Rail 1960, Trains Office Derby, diagramming, train staff planning, special trains; [00:04:30] area covered, freight timetable, Derby to Barnt Green, Hornsbridge at Chesterfield; Birmingham, freight traffic analysis, wagon surveys; changes, introduction of diesels working ‘out and home’; [00:09:00] line occupation surveys; diagramming journeys and staff; [00:10:30] different jobs before being involved with TOPS; TOPS at Cardiff, start with Ebbw Vale cutover, TOPS in South Wales; [00:16:43] problem with Cardiff Tidal/East Maws works; use of Ventek terminals, issues, wagon surveys, [00:20:49] missing wagons, ‘Cripple roads’, loading wagon data into TOPS; [00:24:32] TOPS survey staff, cutover process, working hours; [00:29:25] impact of TOPS on Area Managers, attempts at economies, TOPS helping reduce amount of wagons and introduce air braked wagons; [00:35:26] TOPS and locomotive maintenance on Western Region; [00:42:39]economies, elimination of consignment notes, survey, traffic flow introduction of numbers for clients, economies on clerks and paper; [00:47:47] goods offices rationalisation, reduction in sidings, new methods of working enabling savings; [00:49:30] job at Speedlink 1984-1990; [00:50:21] TOPS moving into privatisation, non geographic allocation of reporting offices; [00:54:40] planning redundancy but kept on to work out how to affect the move away from geographic location; [00:57:36] TOPS 2000 introduction, link with privatisation; division within privatised freight network, change to Windows operating system; [01:02:23] TOPS 2000 implementation, TOPS offices for BR mainline; TOPS responsibility area (TRA), capacity limits and rationalisation, Worcester TOPS office closure, further rationalisation; [01:07:08] reason for TOPS office locations, marshalling yards, reasons for rationalisation and TOPS staff redeployment; [01:11:47] TOPS clerks, recruitment and grades; [01:14:40] Freightliner, coal/cement, links to TOPS; difference between TRUST and TOPS; [01:17:01] TRUST and LARTA, geolocated train departures; how to put in a new location [01:21:50] locations for companies; wagon load, marshalling yards, train loads rather than individual wagons; [01:25:07] merry-go-round system (MGR), automation, including wagon numbers and weights, MGR wagons kept in trains; Toton, only two roads on down-side, wagon weight limitation at some collieries, MGR wagons revolution; [01:30:17] TOPS 2000, more people understand the system, area managers and shunters can input TOPS; TOPS direct (Eric Straw), Wolverhampton Steel Terminal, training on using TOPS, including Masboro Control; [01:35:10] EWS move; cut over Swansea Borough, Newport 1974, returned 20 years later to cutover to shunters; removal of Rowntrees traffic, closure of Dringhouses yard, closing yards, Parkeston; reflection on railways during time of career, sectorisation hierarchy, Bury St Edmonds example, Peterborough-Grantham, division of payments in pre-privatisation era; [01:43:04] sectorisation process, new thinking, cost of running railway has increased, GNER causes wage inflation with drivers, causing train cancellations elsewhere;[01:49:02] career overview, lodging at Railway Hostel, Loco hostels, redundancy, WR change, traffic analysis, Rowsley, Derby, Crewe, Nantwich, Bridgend, Sheffield, TOPS implementation, Speedlink, RFD, Manchester, Islington; EWS attempts to replace TOPS; Freightliner poached Glynn from EWS with traffic; [02:01:20] work as a consultant sorting out new freight flows, sectorisation, end of Speedlink, lack of knowledge; Michael Portillo, every freight flow had to make 8.5% return on assets; [02:06:50], privatisation, increasing distance of freight flows [02:09:25] [end of interview]

Glynn Waite interviewed by Bob Gwynne

2017-09-18
Oral history interview with 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 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 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
Interview with Donald Heath (session 2) interviewed by Frank Paterson on the 19th July 2021 at Sutton on Derwent. Duration: 44min 35 sec. Background to his appointment as Director of projects- Development of Project Management Manual; Touche-Ross consultancy review; responsibility for East Coast Main Line Electrification (ECML) ; Provincial Rolling Stock; Channel Tunnel Locomotives; Stanstead Infrastructure; major projects; Changes in project Managers; Accountancy and Passenger Ticket issuing System; story of appointment to ECML project; Devolution of project Managers; Possible Management Buy Out; Crossrail reporting lines; personal opinions.

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

2021-07-19
Interview with Paul Smart conducted by Christopher Mew on the 5th of August 2021 in Twickenham. Duration 7min 28 sec.This interview was conducted in a group with Allan galley and Douglas Downie, please see corresponding interviews. Early career; Operations Manager for Freightliner; Post privatisation service reliability; locomotive use; Bidding process; benefits of privatisation for Freightliner and professional life.

Paul Smart Interviewed by Christopher Mew

2021-08-05
Oral history interview with John Tilley, describing his experiences as a public health legislator including leading the team at the Department of Health that was responsible for the implementation of smoking policy at the time of the 'bans' (2006-2007). Interview conducted and recorded by Oscar Clarke at the interviewee's home in Kingston upon Thames on 7 June 2018. Duration: 73 min. 57 sec.

John Tilley interviewed by Oscar Clarke

2018-06-07
Oral history interview with Dr John Marks, describing his experiences as a GP after qualifying on the day of the founding of the National Health Service and his role as former Chair of the British Medical Association. Interview conducted and recorded by Rebecca Mitchell at the interviewee's home in London on 9 May 2018. Duration: 94 min. 09 sec.

Dr John Marks interviewed by Rebecca Mitchell

2018-05-09
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
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 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 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
Oral history interview with David Ward, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the National Railway Museum, York on 24 January 2020. Duration: 52 min. 34 sec. Career overview; InterCity changes; Class 43 High Speed Train (HST) moved from British Rail: Western Region to Midland Main Line (MML); Special Trains sub-sector; sleepers; Northern Belle; catering vehicles; profit centre remit; Royal Train; Venice-Simplon Orient Express (VSOE) in UK; separation from InterCity 1994; preparation for privatisation; Charles Belcher Managing Director; Cyril Bleasdale; John Prideaux; Chris Green; commendations from customers; sale of Special Trains rolling stock and locomotives to McAlpine/Waterman consortium; Flying Scotsman Enterprises; distribution of assets; retirement; reflections; Adviser to Marchington owner of Flying Scotsman; sale to National Railway Museum (NRM); involvement with Settle & Carlisle Trust

David Ward interviewed by Frank Paterson

2020-01-24
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
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 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