The Bristol Railway Archive

In earlier days I was known as Tugboatcharly now Oldchapie the reason being a little difficulty getting logged on but hopefully now ok? Nice to be back thankyou

oldchapie wrote:In earlier days I was known as Tugboatcharly now Oldchapie the reason being a little difficulty getting logged on but hopefully now ok? Nice to be back thankyou

Funny that you should post today because I was reading a number of your old posts yesterday as I was trawling through the archives. I read that you were on the footplate in Bristol in steam days and also that there were occasional meetings between ex-railway staff.

I was an enthusiast in the early and mid 60s but didn't leave school until 1969 so when I joined the railway I had missed steam by a few years. However, I was at Bath Road between 1971 and 1976 (as a clerk) and if there any meetings still going on that people I might know still attend, I would like to come along to one or two!

To save boring everybody else, please email me off group!

I tried the e- mail but it did not work how ever not to worry just tell me what office you were in,down stairs or in the main office up stairs?then we can take it from there.

oldchapie wrote:I tried the e- mail but it did not work how ever not to worry just tell me what office you were in,down stairs or in the main office up stairs?then we can take it from there.

You need to use the email address on my profile page, but for the time being (everybody else can yawn and go and read something else now!):-

Went to Bath Road as relief clerk in 1971, working on payroll, in the Time Office and the Omniprinter Office. (so both upstairs and downstairs!) Most of the people I worked with have long since passed on, but some of the names were:

Claude Emery
Ken Hunter
Ken Willmott
Arthur Perrett
Bob Cannings
Cliff Griifin
Bill Ferris
Keith Pickford
Eric Looker
Ray Jones

Foremen around at the time included:
Ernie Vinnecombe
Pat Lewis
Tommy Ball
That ginger haired one from Birmingham I can never remember the name of!
Vic Smith
Dick Pethybridge

Other names from the time
Len Olver - Depot Engineer
Basil Edwards
Harry Wilkinson

Following the reorganisation in 1974 I was given the workshop payroll to do (upstairs!), and I've fogotten all the foremen's names with the exception of Terry Henly who was in charge on that side. During that period I got to know many of the breakdown gang, mainly due to the extremely complicated hours they ended up claiming! People like Bob Coggins and George Stone

I left in September 1976

I hope this list jogs a fewmemories

Oh, don't take it to email! A list of names of people who worked at Bath Road is a most welcome addition to the website. I love stuff like this

Good grief what a memory names of some worth rembering others not so
but Bath road was a good place to work
I first turned up at Bath road January 1950 and spent most of my career there.my whole life was geared round the job! even to-day I am RAILWAY NUTTER

madhattie wrote:Oh, don't take it to email! A list of names of people who worked at Bath Road is a most welcome addition to the website. I love stuff like this

OK then!

A few of the footplate staff I can remember (all of them ought to have known me as I was often on Thursdays in that broom cupboard in the enginemen's lobby that they used to call the Pay Office!!

Len Bowker
Pat Evans
Len Glasspool
Joe Stamp (former S&D man from Bath - was told he died quite recently)
Arthur (AWS) King
Ken Artus
Albert Williams
Ray Stokes (former S&D man from Templecombe)
Len Dewson
George Broadhurst (lived in Sturminster Road as it happens - said that after he retired all he'd do was sit in his chair and walk his dog - dead six weeks later )
Frank Cannon (formerly at Chippenham - worked the last Calne branch service in 1965)
Stan Tincklin (also a magistrate)
Henry Smart
Jim Northey
Ralph Holden


More staff on the workshop side:

Alfie Ettle in the stores
Ron Lias ditto
Ken Thompson (electrician)
Jeff Stokes (fitter)
Ron Troll (fitter)
Ken Mortimore (fitter - went ballistic if you spelt his name wrong!)
Martin Bromet (electrician)
Ernie Cocking (fitters mate - once told me "I've been here 45 years, and the ink on that clock card is just about drying out by now)
Chalkie White (cleaner)
Adrian George (fitter)

Others that I thought of this afternoon:

Jack Hares (foreman)
Ted Brook (" ne E no S!") Guards roster clerk
Norman Rigby (not quite sure what he did - in the office next to the workshop foremen)
Fred Filer (guard - always worked afternnons on the Severn Beach line)
Chris Campho (guard - didn't like working when it was light out )
Gerry Nicklen (guard)

I can probably clutter up this thread with a lot more names as they come back to me

Just looking through those lists of names makes me well up with nostalgia. Happy and sad memories of colleagues past and still a very small number still present.

I will add to the list once I have racked my brain, but for starters:-

Colin Pavey - electrician
Dave Yelland - electrician
Roy Kingsbury - electrician
Ian Hemmings - fitter
Trev Jones - fitter
Charlie Chadwick - fitter
Keith Evans - fitter
Stewart Woods, Don Smart, Len Slade, Vic Hamill, Staff Gibbons, Jack Davis - foremen
Sam Scott, Tony Andoniou, Wilf Stone, Harry Westlake, Jack Evans, Norris Lamb - QCI's
Ken Grantham, Dennis Smith - axle testers

Are you sure it was Norman Rigby? Are you thinking of Norman Morbey who was the records clerk next door to the foreman's office.

the green mile wrote:Are you sure it was Norman Rigby? Are you thinking of Norman Morbey who was the records clerk next door to the foreman's office.

Now I see it in print I think you're right. There was also somebody else in there with him - grey haired chap - had something to do with Keynsham British Legion.

I thought for a moment his name might have been Rigby but then it came back to me - I was thinking of Jeff Rigby who lived in Ashchurch and was communting every day until he got a job with Dowty in Ashchurch. I took over the workshop payroll job from him when he left.

The other chap was probably one of the axle testers. On the train to work this morning, I produced another long list of accomplices.I will post later when I have time.

the green mile wrote:The other chap was probably one of the axle testers.

No, he was a clerk. I used to have him with me on finalising the payroll on Sunday mornings. Which of course makes it all the worse that I can't remember his name!!

Was he Cedric Catt who came from the DMO. I think he took over when Norman retired. Cedric is a well published photographer in the railway media.

the green mile wrote:Was he Cedric Catt who came from the DMO. I think he took over when Norman retired. Cedric is a well published photographer in the railway media.

No this was before Norman retired. I know (of) Cedric but it wasn't him

Foremen around at the time included:
Ernie Vinnecombe
Pat Lewis
Tommy Ball
That ginger haired one from Birmingham I can never remember the name of!
Vic Smith
Dick Pethybridge


Was the ginger haired one from Birmingham Joe Wilkey (or Wilkins?)

To many readers, this might just be a boring list of names. But to some of us, they are all characters and I could probably write a sad or amusing anecdote about most of them. There are quite a few family links. When I went for my first interview in '69, I was asked if I had any family working on the railways. There were none current at that time but my great uncle on my father's side worked at St Philips station and finished up at Bath Spa. A great uncle on my mother's side was a platelayer who was knocked down and killed near Stapleton Road.

Bath Road was a running and maintenance depot and the two functions were split along these lines. However, I think we all used the same broom cupboard to collect our pay packets - weekly cash in those days.

Here we go then:-

Don Gronow was Depot Engineer before Len Olver. He had two sons Doug and Frank who were fitters. I think there might have been a third one who I believe went off to France. Doug ended up in Canada but Frank went the full course.

Foremen:- John Sage, Vernon Young, Jack Hillard, Ivor Comley, Ken Sperring, Jim Bridges, a little ginger haired Welsh chap called the Corgi- possibly Mike Hobbs. And who could possibly forget Reg Paton, the plant supervisor - a legend.

In the admin office:-

Bill Coles (superseded Ken Hunter), Dave Sporne - Bill's nephew, Frank Limington, Jan Powell (sister of a driver) and Pat Hogan.

Stores: John Perryman-Burgess, Johny Knight, Johny Haberfied,

Running foremen:- Roger Ford, George Goodland, Ken Fisher

Technical trainers:- George Longley, Dave Peters

A few of the many drivers:- Bruce Parkin (still driving HST's today), Jack Ford - his son was a fitter for a while.

Plant section:- Graham Fouracres (Yogi Bear) - electrician, Jim Bridgwater (fitter) - son was a fitter at Marsh Jcn fuelling pit, Harry Wilkinson (5 foot nothing and known as Harry Neversweat).

Boilersmith:- Harold Watson (Most locos early 70's had a Stones, Spanner or Clayton boiler for train steam heating).

Coppersmith:- Johny Mudge

Fitters mates:- Jimmy James, Fred Phelps, Timmy known as Sunshine because of his happy disposition - nobody knew his surname.

Fitters: Hughie Bannerman, Albert Slocombe, Gilbert Parker, Steve Mabey, Alan Exon, Alan Churchill, Alan Knight, John Hackett, Mick Chriswick, Don Reed, Don Kear, xxxx Campbell, Theo Dicks, Jack Crossland. Geoff Fisher, Graham Parker, Dave Ferris (son of Ron Ferris - HST foreman), Pete Noble, Phil Noble (possibly Phil's son), 'Chinese Fitter' - no idea what his name was, Peter Alway.

Electricians:- Stuart Prangley, Mike Wilks, Dave Bailey, Alan Whitfield, Gordon Vinnicombe 9son of Ernie), Dick Simons, Sammy Legg, Jack Lewington, Brian Probert, Ben Hematpour, Les Lidbury, Graham Bird, Dick Crossland (son of Jack), Roland Lawrence, Bob Lucas, Bob Hancock, Tony Osman, Dick Britton

Apprentices (not all of whom had jobs available when they came out of their time):- 'Rocky'(went to Tyseley), Frankie Pring, Andy Hulbert (went to N Zealand?), John Fripp, Steve Jones, Al Mahoney, Al Burge, Clive Hackett (brother of John), Graham Ballard, Roy Kethro, Dave Evans (son of Pat), Bob Payne (joined the police).

How's that for starters, and that's without going through Marsh Junction, the F&I pit, the HST depot (The Happydrome as Terry Henley called it), Dr Day's Wagon Shops, The Malago, Clocktower Yard Workshop, the Plant Worshop at Ashton Gate and the Scott Shop at Temple Meads Goods Depot.

A number of other faces are in my memory and names seem to come and go vaguely in my mind. When you look at the flattened site which was once Bath Road, it seems sad to think that so many livelihoods were lost when it all came to an end. Granted, the residue of staff ended up at the Happydrome. The fabric of the depot may have been destroyed but only time can erase the memories.