National Railway Museum | Science Museum Group Collection

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 Philip (Phil) Graham conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson on 8 March 2016 (session 1) at the National Railway Museum in York. Duration: 2 hours 16 minutes. [Track 01] Career start; childhood, interest in signalling; [00:06:00] homelessness, Hunts Bank station; [00:10:00] leading railwayman, transfer to booking clerk, pay comparison; [00:13:00] 12 hours working day, overtime; Runcorn; [00:15:00] clerical duties; relief clerk, Liverpool Lime Street, duties, pay checks; Birkenhead maintenance staff; staff free tickets; [00:20:00] Area Manager (Gordon Fox), mentor; British Rail management training scheme; grade A supervisor; train register books, timekeeping policy, justifying delays; [00:23:10] supervising grades, relief supervisor duties; carriage cleaning supervisor, Downhill carriage sidings, staff turnover, gender work differences; [00:27:00] Mark 1 carriages, destinations, sleeping cars; [00:30:00] night shift; pit road examination; [00:33:00] management lessons learned, carriage cleaners; [00:35:00] yard supervisor, Canada Dock, wagon load traffic, import, morning/evening trips from Garston, private siding; [00:38:00] 350 diesel shunter; restricted driver allocation; [00:42:00] grade B supervisor, Edgehill carriage sidings; derailment hand worked points; steam heating vans on electrified stock; [00:46:00] Apollo 19 runaway; [00:49:00] 08 shunter and class 86 collision, inquiries; [00:51:00] management training scheme, Stoke Division, NEBSS certification; [00:53:00] meeting Les Holding, Shrewsbury Area Manager, extent of Shrewsbury area, comments on Welsh branch, trust in workers, economies; [01:00:00] Cambrian coast difficulties, track conditions, late running; [01:02:00] Chester signal boxes, attitudes to divisional functions; end of training, supervisor grade C at Shrewsbury, report to Area Operations Manager; supervisor duties, staff supervised, carriage cleaning capacity [01:08:36] [end of track 01] [Track 02] supervisor at Shrewsbury, rules and regulations exam, Great Western rules; [00:04:00] move to Liverpool, promotion grade D supervisor, relief supervisor at Edgehill; job applications; career plan, personal choices; role of regulator, absolute block signalling; [00:10:20] March 1983, Traffic Manager Chester, responsibilities, 7 signal boxes, stations on North Wales coast; issues with staffing, run down of mechanical power boxes, 1984 introduction Chester Power; [00:15:00] night shift, filling-in to open unstaffed Chester Number 5 signal box; [00:17:45] enjoyment in traffic management jobs; Wrexham cash retention safe, wages paid cash, checking train account book; [00:21:20] 1986 job change, closed listing jobs, vacancy system; Traffic Manager Hull application, area and responsibilities; manually operated level crossings, Scarborough line, weekly issues on Bridlington to Hull, timekeeping; [00:27:15] automatic open level crossings, accidents, Lockington accident, fatalities ; [00:32:05] change in level crossings, AOCL (automatic open crossing locally monitored) and AOCR (automatic open crossing remotely monitored), comparison with Europe, modern level crossing technologies, obstacle detector, CCTV; [00:38:30] comparison London Midland and Eastern Regions, signal box design; chairing LDC meetings, 1985 carriage cleaners no longer working on Sundays, NUR advert Hull Daily Mail, BBC, ITV news; [00:44:30] NRM 10th anniversary, documentary; [00:45:25] miners’ strike, impact on railways; [00:49:05] Goole Docks activities, import; Goole Swing Bridge, planned closure prevented by refurbishment, accident [00:57:25] Birmingham Assistant to Operations Manager (Ian Gibson), passenger services, New Street station, extent of area, responsibilities; [01:02:10] mobility for work, renting or buying property, British Rail’s support, disturbance allowances; [01:04:30] Bentley Heath DMU fire; on call arrangements [01:07:41] [end of track 02] [end of session 1]

Philip Graham interviewed by Frank Paterson (session 1 of 2)

2016-03-08

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George Stephenson on the floor of NRM

Replica headboard, Flying Scotsman

Alan Willis interviewed by Alison Kay

Glynn Waite interviewed by Bob Gwynne

David Ward interviewed by Frank Paterson

David MacLean interviewed by Frank Paterson

Christopher Austin interviewed by Frank Paterson

John Ellis interviewed by Frank Paterson

Dr. Malcolm Reed interviewed by Frank Paterson

Christine MacLean interviewed by Frank Paterson

Interior of Queen Victoria's Saloon

Two Men Working on Weatherhill Engine

Back of Man on Ladder Working on Weatherhill Engine

Floor Polishing

Tender of (Midland Railway Locomotive) 1000 coming into Museum

Harrison, Douglas

David Ward

Woodcock, George William

Peter Pay/James Crowe

Taylor, Richard Keebil

Peter Hornsby

Groundwater, Kenneth

Robin Nelson/David Russell

Vessey, John

Audio tape, William Withuhn (Bill), transportation curator at the Smithsonian Institute talking to NRM staff

Sylvia Moss interviewed by Janet Davidson

Colin Cameron interviewed by Janet Davidson

Five audio tapes of recordings with British Railways workers mainly based in York and Yorkshire area

Richard Gostling interviewed by Frank Paterson

Philip Graham interviewed by Frank Paterson (session 1 of 2)

John Saville interviewed by Colin Divall

Ian Yeowart interviewed by Frank Paterson (Session 1 of 2)

Mick Haynes interviewed by Jonathan Aylen

Working on the Weatherhill Engine

Man on Ladder Working on Crossbeam of Weatherhill Engine

Man Painting Crossbeam of Weatherhill Engine

Hardwicke and Flying Scotsman

Robin Gray and Chris Ford interviewed by Janet Davidson

David Russell interviewed by Frank Paterson

Gordon Dudman interviewed by Frank Paterson

Dick Fearn interviewed by Frank Paterson

Philip Wiltshire interviewed by Frank Paterson

Chris Stokes interviewed by Frank Paterson

David Blake interviewed by Frank Paterson

Robert Urie interviewed by David Wharton-Street

Mark Evans interviewed by Frank Paterson

Sonia Braybrook interviewed by Frank Paterson (session 2 of 2)

David Prescott interviewed by David Wharton-Street

Graham Miller interviewed by Frank Paterson

Parker, Peter