new name old boy back again

[the green mile]

The name Joe Wilkins rings a bell but I can't put a face to it.

Totally at a loss as to who that clerk was.

And I forgot Eddie the carpenter - a West Indian guy who used a saw vertically with the teeth pointing away from him. Very effective, accurate and safe for the operative but I could never get the hang of it myself.

Just remembered Jock Black and the late Steve Dent who were running foremen in the 80's I believe.

Beyond that, the depot went into the John Cronin era when I had little to do with it. Over time, its function and purpose changed leading to its ultimate demise.

[Robin Summerhill]

I think Alan might be right about Joe Wilkins as the "other" Running Foreman - the name certainly rings a bell.

Other names have come back since reading your list - Ivor Comley was Stores Manager and Ken Willmott was in there as well for some years - I had previously worked with him in the Paybill Office above Temple Meads Motors when I joined the railway in 1969. Another clerk was Ivor Kenshole - he lived in Stockwood.

You mentioned Pat Hogan as one of the Admin staff - he was of course formerly a driver who took redundancy and came back as an office messenger.

Do you remember Lou Lampert the van driver? He had a nickname for most of us - I was "John the Baptist" (well, I had long hair in those days ) There was a lad briefly employed in the Time Office by name of Peter Davey (he died young in his early 50s some years ago) who always wore a "hippy-style" headband - Lou referred to him as "Hiawatha" He also referred to one of the female staff as "The Talking Horse" but I won't say which one in case these people are still with us

There was also a fitter by name of Lane (I remember his pay number - 1029! ) His son Dennis was an apprentice and I went to school with him after I moved to Bristol in 1964 (I had been in school with Alan Hireson at Kingswood Grammar previously!)

There was a fitter by name of (Mike?) Kolowski, and a Chargehand fitter Howard Hiscocks, whose job involved daily visits to Swindon, Crewe or Derby picking up urgently needed components. He found himself on the receiving end of a good deal of resentment when it came to light that he worked during the three week workshop staff strike at the depot after the 50s were introduced.

[jules]

Beyond that, the depot went into the John Cronin era when I had little to do with it.

JC is still managing a diesel depot. Williton on the West Somerset!

Come say hello if you're ever in the area. I'm D1010's electrician (amongst other things and for my considerable sins!)

[oldchapie]

Joe Wilkins was one of the best foremen at Bath road there were others even I have chosen to forget. I could relate to you many of those who were at Bath road but it is better to do it the way you are. Bye the way a lot of us meet once a month to burn a bit of coal and diesel.

[Mitch]

I transferred to Bath Road from Westbury in 1984 as a freight guard and left Bristol for Birmingham in 2002 as a train manager.
Some of the names that have been listed in this thread evoke some happy memories for me, particularly the late Steve Dent. Steve was a true gentleman and a good friend; we did a lot of travelling together and his premature death was a great shock to us all.
Bob Cannings was our roster clerk at the time and back in the days when we were on mileage, he would sidle up to me in the week and say "Best uniform for Saturday, son", meaning that he was giving me a London job.
I'm in the 32nd year of my railway career now and although I still enjoy the job, it's not the same nowadays. There was a guard at Bath Road who would never put his kit-bag away in his locker, leaving it in the lobby for people to trip over. I cured him of that by emptying his bag, putting a class 47 brake block in it, then piling all his gear on top. He always put his bag away after that, but these days for doing something like that you'd get the sack. Happy days......

[the green mile]

What sort of hornet's nest have I stirred up here?

Jules - you must know Bob Tiller. Last I heard of him I believe he had moved to Freightliner, probably 5 years ago.

The van or 'workabus' drivers are a mystery to me - I couldn't name a single one. They used to ferry drivers around from the booking on point at Bath Road to places like Stoke Gifford. Nowadays, it's all done using not particularly reliable taxi companies.

I do remember the odd hippy or two in the admin team.

Fitters - there was a Mr Lane in the Heavy Lift Shop but his first name escapes me. Jan Koslowski was I believe of Polish origin, not surprisingly with a name like that. A lot of Poles settled in the UK after the 2nd World War.

Pat Hogan and his delightful wife Ivy were lovely people. I only knew Pat as the messenger.

People did move around within the depot. Ivor Comley was a foreman when I started but moved into the stores later. He was superseded by Jack Evans out of the QCI's team, probably after Jack's hernia operation.
Norris Lamb also transferred from the QCI team to be a foreman. Another QCI was Jack Jeenes.

I can only remember 2 guards. Dave Lowther aka Elvis ended up as a dmu controller in Swindon and Tony Cardall who went even higher in Operations Management.

More tradesmen etc:- Mo Coombs (fitter), Reg Hillier (electrician) Mike Bastin (electrician), Mike Ollier (electrician), Ian Stone (electrician), Norman Chambers (electrician), Lou Sexton (mate) and there was a little guy in the Lift Shop called McGinty (not his real name).


In the stores:- Jack Philips, Jim Briody and Reg Morris. Reg transferred from the fuelling pit when it closed. He passed away one night sat in the office. Now the stores wasn't renowned for fast service hence expressions like "go down the stores and ask for a long wait". Some unkind souls put it around that Reg was dead 3 days before anybody noticed.

More apprentices: Bob Dunwell, 'Budgie', Dave Coles (died tragically in an accident involving a lighting tower while working for a film company), and there was another young lad who was knocked off his moped and killed while travelling to work - no idea what his name was).

(More after dinner)!

[the green mile]

Forgot Terry Burton - hated being called Terence. I believe he had been a skilled man but was badly injured in a motor cycle accident. He was physically disabled and his speech was affected but he worked as a labourer cleaning the locker room and ablutions area.

[the green mile]

Robin, I wonder if that was the same lady that we referred to as D1000 on account of her glasses resembled the windscreens of a Western? I am talking circa early 70's.

[the green mile]

They're still coming slowly:-

Ginger Short looked after the sand house - most locos had sandboxes to assist with poor railhead conditions.

There was a fitter called George - very dark, greasy individual who I believe had a metal plate fitted in his skull, possibly after a brain op. He scared me a bit although he was really quite a nice chap. His surname escapes me. Reputed to have once attended a callout to Temple Meads to attend to a dmu on what is now platform 1, taking a large can of oil with him. Unfortunately, the can had a hole in it and he left a slippery trail all along the platforms and through the subway.

Was there a guy on the Ops side called Arthur Catherall? What did he do?

One group I have missed is the STO's or Senior Technical Officers. These were young men either graduate engineers or lads off the shop floor who had been identified as having management potential. They were allocated to depots to carry out technical investigations and complete casualty reports (pink forms) while being groomed for their first management appointment. In other words, they came in, created chaos, then moved on to create further chaos elsewhere but at a higher level.

The first one I remember was Cliff Perry who came back as Depot Engineer - one of the success stories. I believe he had an older brother Dave who also did well for himself in the rail industry.

Steve Ollier - last I heard of him was at Terry Henley's retirement. I overheard him say he was then building trains at possibly GEC which became Alsthom.

Adrian Featherstone - went to the HST depot then possibly Derby where the trail goes cold.

Paul Kerslake ex the DMO. As an ex Laira man, he knew absolutely everything and had an appropriate nickname to suit. Was badly injured while involved in a bogie change on a class 31. Not sure where he went after.

Roy Kethro (ex 82A apprentice) came in while Paul was recovering. Went off to Maintenance Control at Paddington.

Chris York went to the HST depot and was depot engineer there.

Graham Boot-Handford went to the HST depot then Laira and subsequently became Engineering Director under FGW before retiring early

John Gander went to Paddington HQ then ended up at Laira. Believed to have left the industry.

Martin Honess. Went to the HST depot then as a shift production manager at Cardiff Canton dmu depot. I think he gave up shift work but was still involved in the industry possibly with a firm manufacturing the humble but essential brake block. Or was it continuous welded rails?

John Hawkins became HST depot engineer then went on to have a very successful career with First. Terry Henley had a very unkind nickname for him which I will not repeat here for fear of libel action.

I have no idea who followed immediately but over the years, the role developed into a whole tech office team, especially when the operation moved to the Marsh.

[Robin Summerhill]

What sort of hornet's nest have I stirred up here?

Nah - just reminiscing! I was hoping this thread would go this way back in November but you hadn't found us then

The van or 'workabus' drivers are a mystery to me - I couldn't name a single one. They used to ferry drivers around from the booking on point at Bath Road to places like Stoke Gifford. Nowadays, it's all done using not particularly reliable taxi companies.

The bus - ah the bus .....

I briefly returned to the railway in June 1979 as ASM's clerk at Temple Meads - only stuck it for 6 months then left again. never to return. The main reason was the amount of overtime around (too much, and my life had moved on from the days at Bath Road when it would have been considered bad grammar to use the words "overtime" and "too much" in the same sentence ) But I digress,, but for a purpose.

BTM was in the habit of calling me (and others) out at all hours of the day and night to cover vacancies/ sickness. I lived in Yate at the time, and every so often the Bath Road bus would turn up outside my door with a message to get in the bus and go in to work. Now. I had both a car and a phone - did nobody at BTM realise that this 'ere new fangled technology was now in place? They could've rung me. Perhaps that was too easy

I do remember the odd hippy or two in the admin team.

Hmmm ..... so that was probably Pete Davey .....

And me .....

Although now I stop and think about it, there was another in the Time Office 1971/ 1972 ish - can't remember his name though

[Robin Summerhill]

Forgot Terry Burton - hated being called Terence. I believe he had been a skilled man but was badly injured in a motor cycle accident. He was physically disabled and his speech was affected but he worked as a labourer cleaning the locker room and ablutions area.

Terry had his own name for Wednesdays - he called them "Pay Day Eve" Its a phrase that I''ve used myself on many occasions over the years.

There was another cleaner by name of Williams - single bloke in his 40s or 50s who still lived with his mum in Bath. He won around ú6000 on the pools in about 1972/3 which was a decent sum of money in those days (getting on for 3 years wages as a cleaner), but he still kept coming to work to use his mop and bucket

Robin, I wonder if that was the same lady that we referred to as D1000 on account of her glasses resembled the windscreens of a Western?

I understand why you might come to that conclusion but I couldn't possibly comment

[the green mile]

If memory serves me correct, the workabus was a Bedford CA dormobile in Olive Green. There were lots of them dumped by the old cattle pens at the Marsh which were cleared to build the main shed at the Happydrome. If only I had had the foresight to make an offer for them before they probably went for scrap.

There was a clerk on the ops side called Roger. A balding little man who lived with his mum. I heard stories that he used to work out just how much it cost her to keep him in food down to the last penny and that's how much he paid her each week. When he went on holiday, he worked out exactly how much money he would need and that's how much he took. These were the days before you had a credit card for emergencies.

Should have been a civil servant in the Treasury. He ended up in Swindon Headquarters but I never once bothered to speak to him. Too creepy for my liking. But then again, it could all have been hearsay.

[the green mile]

Well, I think that's about it for ex Bath Road people, unless a few more come out of the woodwork when I wake up in the morning. Strange how I can remember all this from 40 odd years ago but I can't for the life of me remember how I found this forum last week. Maybe it's Early Onset Dementia. There's a history of it in my family.

Why the Green Mile? Well, you have to have watched the Tom Hanks film of the same name to begin to understand that one. My crews think I'm a reincarnation of Paul Edgecombe! They say that working on my shift is like being on death row, just waiting for their name to be called. I rarely disappoint them.

Been up since 4 this morning - time to fall asleep in front of the telly.

Goodnight all!

[bristolian]

This thread has left me wondering if anyone can provide a couple of names for me...

Firstly, when my father passed away in November '77, a distant 'relative' - I can't remember his surname - took me to several railway locations, including Bristol PSB. I believe he worked on the signalling side of things.
His name was Peter, and he drove a (I think it was dark blue) Mark 2 Cortina. He lived in Soundwell with his mother.
He once showed me several of his old slides, including steam at Westerleigh (WR) and Coalpit Heath.

The other chap I'd like to know his name used to be one of the announcers at BTM during the '70s.
He was very Bristolian, I can still hear him to this day...

"Bristol Temple Meads, this is Bristol Temple Meads. The train now arrived at Platform..."

Very Best Wishes,
Bob.

[Robin Summerhill]

This thread has left me wondering if anyone can provide a couple of names for me...

Firstly, when my father passed away in November '77, a distant 'relative' - I can't remember his surname - took me to several railway locations, including Bristol PSB. I believe he worked on the signalling side of things.
His name was Peter, and he drove a (I think it was dark blue) Mark 2 Cortina. He lived in Soundwell with his mother.
He once showed me several of his old slides, including steam at Westerleigh (WR) and Coalpit Heath.

The other chap I'd like to know his name used to be one of the announcers at BTM during the '70s.
He was very Bristolian, I can still hear him to this day...

"Bristol Temple Meads, this is Bristol Temple Meads. The train now arrived at Platform..."

Very Best Wishes,
Bob.

Can't help with that unfortunately Bob, but your mentioning station announcers reminds me of Douggie Evans (pay number 393 - I must be a sad case remembering that over all these years )

He used to be a driver at Bath Road but contracted a nastly problem with his neck, which he put down to going to Gloucester one hot summer's day in a Peak with the driver's door open.

He was off sick with this neck problem for quite some time and ended up being taken off the footplate, and wasgiven an announcer's job in the station.