Course: Working Lives on Britain's Railways: Railway History and Heritage

Although the quiet pace of life on the rural stations lent itself well to stories of suspense and isolation, the reality of working in the busy signal boxes of the …

What was it like to be a tourist watching a driver and fireman at work? Here F.G. Kitton, a reporter for The Strand magazine, describes a conversation with the engine …

Hatchboys, firemen, brakesman, jetty clerk, shunters, senior clerks, lady porters, and undercover detectives…. The world of railway labour was enormous, and ever-changing. In the early years railway labour was ad-hoc …

The engine driver was often a heroic figure in Victorian culture. Using a famous painting from the Railway Museum’s art store, Kirstie tells us more.

There are few surviving accounts of what it was actually like to drive a Victorian railway engine. David Stevenson started his railway career as a clerk on the London and …

Michael Reynolds was Locomotive Superintendent of the London and Brighton Railway in the 1870s and 1880s. This meant he was responsible for both engines and drivers. Reynolds was worried about …

From the footplate of an 1840s locomotive held at the National Railway Museum, Oliver Betts explains the key tasks of the driver and fireman.

On this special extended version of the course the Educators will monitor it less frequently; this will likely mean that they will not be able to respond to individual comments …