How many members work (or worked) on the Big Railway?

[E3109]

Bit of a general question here, and to be frank I'm asking partly out of self-interest.

 

When I started on BR I noticed that my interests waned a little bit, or perhaps more accurately were focused elsewhere, due to me getting my 'train fix' at work.

 

I'm approaching the finishing line of my career and I kind of expect that my modelling and other interests will once again come to the fore, once I hand my keys in for good.

I hope to hear from you guys' experiences, whether ex railway or not.

To the railway people, can I ask if you regained your passion for modelling and so on when you finished, and to the non-railway people can I ask how did you maintain your passion while employed in other areas?

 

All comments welcomed, cheers

E3109

[Mike Storey]

I worked for BR through to Network Rail (and in the end the 2012 Olympics, but on rail projects), via all sorts of roles, across nearly 40 years.

 

My interest in modelling had already waned when girls became more interesting. But it was refreshed after a few years, interestingly by a girl, well, woman, who was my landlady! We, along with a few others, produced layouts for the exhibition circuit for a few years, but then I moved far away, and the usual life issues meant model railways were out for a few decades, apart from the odd several months when coming across others sharing the interest, with a few, small layouts started but none finished (by me).

 

Rail enthusiasts were not a breed liked by professional railway peeps, so that interest was hidden for decades, and I spent too much time learning and then doing the jobs I had, to take much detailed interest in whatever else was going on around me. I wish I had now of course. But I moved jobs and locations every two or three years (you were expected to do that after management training). I did buy Modern Railways regularly, and after privatisation that became almost the only way you could find out what was going on!

 

But as retirement approached, I knew I wanted to model again. I got into live steam garden railways, as people did not take the mick so much about that, and did settle long enough in one place, to build an entire "layout". But all the time, from my mid 40's, I knew I wanted to build a specific 00 layout eventually (based on my first operations area), and started to collect the traction, rolling stock and other items, I would need. Thank goodness I did, as some of it is no longer available. But it was all kept in boxes, as my wife had developed a chronic illness and priorities changed. So I retired early, and we moved here, primarily for her health (warmer climes etc), but also because I could then afford a place with a barn.....

 

That was nearly six years ago, and I have still not started the 00 layout, apart from building a test track. Life took over, with so many other things to do or pay for. But I have managed to start building a new 32mm garden layout, which I should have finished the groundwork for by now, but then real life took over again. I really admire many people on here who just get on with it, despite what is going on around them (several with problems even greater than mine) and some even churn out a new layout almost every year. But I am not like that. I have slowed down a lot, and need to concentrate on just a few things at a time, in order to enjoy or deal with any of them properly. Seems amazing now after the huge variety of stuff I had to deal with at any one time when still working. You may be different! This forum is my release from some of that, but then it also time wasted to a degree, although you never stop learning, and I have a lot to learn, or re-learn, and being on here has really helped me understand what is viable.

 

So be warned - dream the dream, but you may find retirement is rather busier (and occasionally more expensive) than you expected! Plan accordingly.....

[E3109]

Most informative Mike, really enjoyed reading your post. I think we've all been waylaid by the girlies from time to time! Although in the case you mention she was an enthusiast too.

 

Interesting that you mention the unwritten railway rule that 'enthusiasts aren't welcome', I kept it quiet on my initial appointment but over time I found that many staff were themselves either full-on enthusiasts (including many good bosses) or, more commonly had gained a genuine interest for the railway just by working there.

 

I can't see me being idle once the pension starts though. Almost certain I'm off to Asia in the next year or two, and I'm interested in a bit of consultancy work. Not necessarily for the money either, in fact if the right gig came up, and it meant a railway got rehabilitated rather than closed, I'll be more than happy to provide a bit of input without pay.

 

So looking forward to this, and hope to provide regular updates when the time comes.

[bescotbeast]

I've been on the Railway since 1998, started off with Railtrack, was working a night shift when Stephen "cab for hire "Byers put Railtrack into receivership, had a stint with EWS, left before it became DB and now find myself working for Southern GTR in Brighton. 

I'm 45 at the end of June and I'd like to finish in 10 years time, my mother wisely told me to take out a Private pension when I was 17 and this was transferred into the Railway pension when I first joined

.My wife and I have a plan afoot which we hope will enable our dream of myself finishing at 55 before I'm too worn out coming to fruition.

 

Simon

[LBRJ]

How many work on the railway? About half of 'em! boom tish!!

 

I was employed by them from 1997 for about 15 years in the RR  and successors world as a Guard, until I realised I did not really want to be a Guard or work shifts for the rest of my life; I also thought we were slipping down the payscale of life so I went back to do what I had done off and on since I was at school.

 

Hobby wise, post Railway I am more into recreating some of  the operation side of things, lost the finescale tastes mainly, and I would now probably be as happy shunting tennis balls correctly....to misquote JN Maskeylene

[E3109]

Haha, I take your point that 'work' is in some cases a bit of a fluid concept!

My mate works for HMRC and always insists on the phrase "an employee of"!

[Dunsignalling]

My interest in modelling was rekindled a year or so after joining BR in 1992.

 

Before our line got a clock-face timetable, my box didn't have a night shift and late turn meant late turn (normally a 23.50 finish after granting possessions if everything was on time and the PICOP on the ball).

 

However, the evenings got fairly quiet from about 20.00 if everything was running smoothly, allowing a good couple hours of "predictably punctuated" modelling time.

 

It naturally instilled a discipline of clearing everything away after a work session, a trait which has sadly disappeared without trace since.

 

John

Edited May 24, 2018 by Dunsignalling

[E3109]

I've often wondered how siggies utilise their spare time, especially on AB lines that don't see too many services.

Must be a lonely task at times John, no doubt the free time comes in handy if you've got projects to work on.

As an aside, I wonder how many PSB guys who are railway modellers get the chance to do a bit of fettling?

[great central]

I'm a relative newcomer to the railway, after a life mostly spent twiddling little wires together in various jobs we, as a family, bought a video shop/off licence. That lasted around 4 years before it became blatantly obvious video shops were well and truly dead. I'd tried to move into model railway retailing adding that to the shop with the unusual, but to many people, convenient fact we were open until 9 at night 6 days a week.

Unfortunately the video business disappeared far quicker than the railway side got fully established and we took the decision to shut up shop before it cost us our house as well.

After a couple of months I came across a notice stuck on a door at Nottingham station asking for concessionaires to work the refreshment trolleys on Central trains services, the supervisor who 'interviewed' me later said he only gave me a job to shut me up!

15 months of that kept us afloat and started paying off the debts run up trying to keep the shop going. Then after several attempts I got a full time ATE job, I was now a proper railway employee rather than self employed contractor:-).

After another 3 years I finally got a guards job, now over 10 years later I'm enjoying it more than ever. Finished paying off the debts about 3 years ago, I passed 65 last month, absolutely no intention of retirement, I'm enjoying myself far too much and realistically I can't afford to, nowhere near enough pension to continue living as I am.

Had to remortgage the house until I'm 70 as it was.

As for interest in model railways, I must admit it goes in stops and starts, mostly stops I'll admit, after a heart attack 8 years ago I try to focus a chunk of my leisure time on keeping fit, I'm better now than for probably 30 years. As you may guess from the time of the post I'm on early turn, ECS to Worksop at the moment so yesterday evening was out for modelling.

When I'm at work I feel very comfortable and among friends, quite a few of whom are also past normal retirement age and I've already told my manager that I'm not quitting until I have to!

[caradoc]

BR (ER, WR, ScR, Scotrail), Railtrack, Network Rail, 1978-2016; 38 years. I was an enthusiast, and a modeller, before joining the railway, and like Mike Storey did not advertise the fact at work, although over time it did become evident that quite a few of my colleagues had far more interest in railways than it just being their job. There was at times disdain shown by some rail staff towards enthusiasts, my own view was surely you would enjoy your work more, and possibly perform better, if you were actually interested in it ?

 

The factors that have affected my modelling over the years have been, firstly getting married and having children (sadly the railway bug has not been passed on), and secondly retiring with the associated drop in income. One thing that has not changed is my inability to finish anything, usually having what seems to be a better idea halfway through a project !

[coachmann]

I worked on the footplate in 1960 at Lees 26F and loved it. No attempt was ever made to hide my enthusiasm for the life, which stood me in good stead with the people who matter. I was also left-handed, which made firing a doddle on the London Midland. My interest in late teens only extended to the prototype, not modelling, so I cannot say the job affected a hobby. There were external problems due to shift work, so I got a job on the buses, my other hobby, and that was that.

Edited May 24, 2018 by coachmann

[Bruce Depot]

Worked for BR from 1987 through to Network rail up to 2005...used to do a bit of modelling when on nights in the PSB and it was quiet...

Have done a bit since but its taken a back seat roll again as other things tend to need doing first, like walking the dogs when home from work etc!

[The Stationmaster]

I've often wondered how siggies utilise their spare time, especially on AB lines that don't see too many services.

Must be a lonely task at times John, no doubt the free time comes in handy if you've got projects to work on.

As an aside, I wonder how many PSB guys who are railway modellers get the chance to do a bit of fettling?

 

I was visiting 'boxes in the Shrewsbury area one day back in the early '90s (yes, 'busman's holiday 'of a sort') and walked into one 'box where the Signalman was in the process of putting together the etched valvegear on a new chassis - complete with Portescap motor - to go underneath a heavily fettled Hornby streamlined 'Duchess' body.  The DI who was taking me round didn't bat an eyelid and it was really a fascinating sort of update on the long established habit of some Signalmen being  enthusiastic, and skillful, menbers of watches and clocks.

 

Working on the real railway could have all sorts of influences but as Mike Storey has said it didn't really pay/wasn't really on to say too much, if anything, about railway hobby interests although I always used to mention some of it on job application forms - probably sensible to let the bloke interviewing know that you also wrote about railway subjects   (although all my published stuff was historical rather than current railway scene).  And of course many jobs didn't allow time for modelling while in earlier years BR pay was hardly sufficient to get too involved in modelling as it hadn't allowed you to buy a house big enough for any sort of layout.  In one job I got very involved in specifying track layouts and signalling so I could, and still can, go past various places and look at the track layout and signalling and say, quite truthfully, 'that's my layout'.  So oddly I have probably created as many, or more, 12ins:1 foot scale layouts than those in the smaller scales.

 

Another odd thing is what comes out after people retire and you find out a lot more about their hobbies - which sometimes does include railway modelling.  For example, and coincidentally, Mike Storey's brother was a Driver at the TOC where I finished my big railway career (I later went into consulting) and although I knew him quite well, as we were a fairly small concern with members of traincrew frequently visiting what amounted to our HQ offices, I didn't find out he was a railway modeller until after I'd retired when I met him at an exhibition.  Can be a small world and over the years I've met quite a number of railway people who I knew at exhibitions - including several who worked for me!

 

PS I sometimes wonder how I might stand in a count of the number of RMweb members who either directly or indirectly worked for me during my time on BR as I know there definitely three although one of them might not have recognised me as his past boss and possibly another who I know has looked in but has never posted.  Or indeed how I might fare in a count of RMweb members for whom I worked during my time on BR?

Edited May 24, 2018 by The Stationmaster

[Rugd1022]

I started my railway career back in September 1982, at the time the railway bug was well and truly alive, since then it's meandered a bit hear and there, but is still more or less intact. In recent years my passion for old cars has certainly overtaken it and I'm currently in the midst of a clear out of railway books and models (I've come to the conclusion that I'll probably never build a proper layout), but I can't quite shake off the bug just yet and I'm not sure I really want to. Things at work are pretty steady at present but I do find that when the doom and gloom descends with regard to the future of our depot, which happens occasionally, my railway interests drops off the edge of a cliff. It gradually comes back once the doom subsides though.

 

Something which is certainly true about the job is the sheer number of enthusiasts in various grades who you wouldn't know had any interest, then you find out quite casually that they were on the same railtours as you back in the dim and distant past!

Edited May 24, 2018 by Rugd1022

[coachmann]

Curiously, I forgot to mention in post #11 that I worked on BR Passenger Parcels throughout most of 1959. We had round 8 which covered Salford. This took in all the Jewish sweat shops and raincoat factories, Frederick Road bus garage, soap and other factories alongside the ship canal including the ship canal railway at Mode Wheel Depot and a few garage workshops. Brian Mills mail order also provided plenty of domestic business. In those days, industrial steam abounded and it was always a good excuse to have a look around. We fueled up in one of the goods yards that had tracks across the main streets where the tiny L&Y 0-4-0ST  'Pugs' spent their lives. The summer of '59 was a warm one too.

 

Our regular van was a blood & custard pre-war Morris commercial except when we had a heavy Dennis 'Flying Pig'. The parcels depot had its own wooden platform at Manchester Victoria and I had my sandwiches up there so I could watch all the steam movements. We unloaded everything at teatime at Manchester Central via lifts down to underground rooms, then I would cadge a lift in a very lively 3-wheel Scammel to Victoria for the train home to Oldham.

Edited May 25, 2018 by coachmann

[caradoc]

PS I sometimes wonder how I might stand in a count of the number of RMweb members who either directly or indirectly worked for me during my time on BR as I know there definitely three although one of them might not have recognised me as his past boss and possibly another who I know has looked in but has never posted.  Or indeed how I might fare in a count of RMweb members for whom I worked during my time on BR?

 

I was a Booking Office Clerk at Reading (and occasionally Twyford and Henley) from 1980 to 1984, don't know if that was your province Stationmaster ?

[Sir TophamHatt]

I've often wondered how siggies utilise their spare time, especially on AB lines that don't see too many services.

Must be a lonely task at times John, no doubt the free time comes in handy if you've got projects to work on.

This is me.

 

I work at a small village station that sees few services, and even less after the morning "peak".

 

Not thought about bringing models to work to work on before though.

Not sure if I would do either, but if I'm just doing a simple clean, might be worth it.

[Oldddudders]

I am not sure girls actually knocked the trainspotter out of me, as I think it had largely lapsed before I had much success with them at skool. Perhaps the demise of steam was more significant. As I think my profile probably says - I then embarked upon 38 years of undetected crime against the railway! I had a charmed career. I joined after A Levels, selling tickets as part of a skool-leavers’ training scheme. That was in 1966. From ‘68 to ‘73 I worked in Control, being lucky in falling into an Area Controller’s job at the age of 20. During those years, Continental and then US HO were the most successful modeling efforts I enjoyed, although I essayed LBSCR in OO, and found the skill deficit far too great.

 

In ‘73 I gained a place on the Management Training Scheme and then trod the required path through local management, which I didn’t greatly enjoy, but it resulted in an offer to join the Divisional team as Operating Assistant, and I relished the three years until Divisions were abolished in ‘84. Marriage in ‘74 and a first house resurrected the LBSC ideas, but the kits still didn’t fall together during these years. As others have said, enthusiasm was contained in public, and I actually had to stand down from a society when I saw a conflict of interests. I can also say that managing a carriage-cleaning depot and arguing with what was said to be the most militant Guards’ Depot in the country were not a great spur to the hobby.

 

I was then offered (again - that word charmed refers!) the job of Infrastructure Planner for the Region. Then NSE came in and I took the South Central Investment & Planning job, followed by Investment Manager at NSE HQ. In 1990 I found myself working jointly for BRB Finance and Projects on a hearts-and-minds exercise, building on work Touche-Ross had undertaken for the Board. During this period a colleague’s enthusiasm for the US scene, ancient and modern, had rekindled that interest, and a loft layout that actually ran, latterly with DCC, was the result.

 

I found myself running a large IT project in 1993/4, in concert with Mike Storey at times, and when change abolished the sponsors, moved to BRIS Privatisation, where I remained until all the engineers had been sold into slavery. Travelling the length and breadth of the country every four weeks was not the least attractive aspect. On a Tuesday afternoon my boss - a former Area Civil Engineer - and I would travel from Edinburgh to York. The temptation to get off at Alnmouth at this time of year was enormous..... He modelled O Gauge, and his father, sometime Investment Manager in Scotrail, had a large garden layout in Hamilton on which we spent a most pleasant evening. Another colleague, fresh to the industry but with a history of “collecting locos for traction” while at uni, had a lathe in his large Ealing flat and would turn up wheels etc for colleagues. A brief period planning to privatise the BR Property Board was halted by the 1997 election, and I then found myself consulting at Silverlink Trains, with whom I connived to jump ship and become an employee. Enthusiasm was rife there, and the very bright young lady managing the rolling stock leases had many friends in the enthusiast sector. Deltics seemed heavily favoured by some of them, although it was to a Lima Silverlink gronk that I added the ‘Catherine’ nameplates for her. Not every colleague has a full-size loco named after them! At home the US layout burgeoned, with sound adding a dimension.

 

Silverlink, successor London Lines and ultimately WAGN saw me through to chosen retirement in 2004, and I was treated with a ridiculous degree of deference, although I felt my knowledge was hideously out of date. Moving to France provided a 20’ x 17’ barn and that is full of railway, with multiple prototypes and settings, all 16.5 mm. The portable HOm layout is still under construction, but two out of three boards are wired and tested so far. 70 this year - I hope! - and modelling remains the activity of choice.

[Joseph_Pestell]

I left school in 1975. Did consider going on to the railway via BR management ttraining scheme. But it was a depressing place at the time, a real mentality of inevitable decline. I decided that it was not for me.

 

A close friend (and enthusiast) did join but did not last long. He hated it!

 

Looking back, I regret my decision. If I could have survived it, many good opportunities would have arisen for a satisfying job.

['CHARD]

Joined BREL nearly 30 years ago while it was still part of BR (just), beleaguered not only with the 'up for sale' moniker 'BREL (1988) Limited,' but also with the tension of uncertainty already rife.  Like many I've been privatised more than once - I had gravitated to the RTC (poacher turned gamekeeper) when Network Train Engineering Services was sold off as WS Atkins NTES.  Subsequently involved in West Coast depots/ production when Alsthom-Fiat Ferroviaria won the Train Service Provision contract for Pendolinos, into heavy overhaul in Kilmarnock, stakeholder management at a RoSCo, and for the past six years, my career has come virtually full circle, and as my signature indicates, I'm back on London Road again!

[eastwestdivide]

To the OP - is this worth doing as a survey?

 - currently work on the big railway

 - worked on it in the past

 - never worked on it

 - hope to work on it in future

[Colin_McLeod]

I worked for Northern Ireland Railways from 1976 to 1992 and retained my enthusiasm for railways (model and prototype) throughout. Some of my colleagues shared these interests.

[E3109]

To the OP - is this worth doing as a survey?

 - currently work on the big railway

 - worked on it in the past

 - never worked on it

 - hope to work on it in future

Good call. Dunno how to set that up, if you want to do that feel free, or I can do it if it needs to be in the first post. Need some coaching though!

[PM47079]

I started off as an enthusiast for a year before I got a chance of a lifetime to join in 1986 as a secondman I took quite a few pictures until I got a driving job at n emu depot in 1992 and didn't really get back into it until I went back to freight driving in 1998 with freightliner. I got quite a few pictures of decline of the 47s and also the 86 & 90 fleet. After that I lost interest once we got 66s and stopped taking pictures and notes. I got into the modelling after that and that's been where I have been ever since.

[eastwestdivide]

Good call. Dunno how to set that up, if you want to do that feel free, or I can do it if it needs to be in the first post. Need some coaching though!

Never done one either, but you can get one started by:

go to your first post in this thread (it has to be the thread "owner" I think),

click Edit,

click Use Full Editor.

Then there's a button thingy over on the right to start a poll. 

Looks fairly self-explanatory, but we're in the same boat, never having done one before!