End of the line
Back when industries were national corporations at the heart of local communities, when life came to a level crossing between leaving school and the working world ahead, many young lads sought jobs down the mines, at the steelworks or in engineering.
However, there were also those who were stationed for a solid job for life as they boarded the career train with British Rail.
Over the past few years, a network of over 60 Rotherham- based drivers and engineers have left freight company DB Cargo’s Ickles depot for the very last time, with over 2,600 years joint service.
The vast majority have spent their entire working lives in the cabs and on the tracks, with many clocking up between 30 and 50 years before retiring.
In the midst of the locomotion, we caught up with a few of those retiring to see what life has been like.
Glyn Shaw was one of the few who worked on the footplate grade steam trains, starting on £5 a week as a cleaner in 1965 at the Darnall depot, working his way up to driver and finishing after 41 years.
As the last of the steam engines were phased out for diesel and electric during the late 60s, the Darnall depot closed along with Canklow and Millhouses, with Glyn moving to the Tinsley depot on the Parkway.
“In those days, jobs were for life and you literally waited for a dead man’s boots to move up a rank to fireman or driver. We had over 1,000 men working at the British Rail network yard, with around 600 drivers and 400 guards for the freight liners,” Glyn says.
For Ian McAllister, he started work
in 1978 after being kicked out to look for a job at 16. However, he was too young to be a driver so started as a junior on the mail train delivering post.
After working his way up to a freight driver, Ian says the male-dominated industry wasn’t deliberate; there just weren’t the facilities for women to work with on the trains.
“There wasn’t even a female toilet at most depots. Some days, you could be in a cab
for 12 hours straight transporting dirty cargo of
coal or aviation fuel hundreds of miles with nowhere to get off if you needed to relieve yourself. We also worked unsociable hours from 23.59pm through to the next morning, often doing 84hour weeks plus overtime – how could you do that with a family?”
When he was nine, Martin Batson
had his first taste of train fever when he went to London from Doncaster Station which started his lifelong interest in trains.
In 1976, Martin was one of 200 lads who applied for a rail engineer apprenticeship, gaining one of that year’s six places. As a fitter, Martin worked on all sectors from passenger to freight, before moving into driving.
Working for British Rail before it was privatised and franchised off in the 90s, Martin, like many others, has a rail pass to get free or discounted travel.
“It’s one of the perks, I go all over as I never had the chance to when I was working. If I wake up and fancy a coffee, I might go and have one at St Pancras then enjoy the train ride home again.”
Photographs courtesy of Batsonelli Photography
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