The joy of steam
- Wendy Percival
- Jan 10, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 13, 2020
Doesn’t everybody loves a model steam railway? (And if you are a fan, there's a treat in store at the end of the post).
My husband‘s been building his model layout for the last few years and this Christmas he was thrilled to get an engine with sound effects. As the locomotive (The Earl of Saint Germans, if you like to know that sort of thing) trundles around the track it makes those wonderful huff-puff noises, along with the sounds of whistles and clanking of various sorts. It's brilliant!
Railway ancestors
So, being enthusiasts, we’re always thrilled when we find an ancestor who worked on the railways and we’ve found two so far.
My great aunt, Hilda Griffiths, was a clerk with the Great Western Railway. I found the employee records for her from 1916 to 1918 when she was clerk in Wolverhampton but I know she worked for them for a lot longer than that, including in London where she lived for a time - during the Second World War, I believe.
When she retired she got special ticket rates as a former employee and she used trains to travel to places all around the country, including coming to visit us.
My husband’s railway ancestor was Henry Viner and he lived and worked in Bath, again for the Great Western Railway. He was a booking clerk and at some point was responsible for the parcels office.
Henry's 15 minutes of fame
It was while he was a parcels clerk that his "Fifteen Minutes of Fame" occurred. I discovered while browsing the British Newspaper Archives that in 1857 Henry was called as a witness for the prosecution in a murder trial!
But more of that next week when I’ve had a chance to do a bit more digging....
Meanwhile, here's a treat for you model railway enthusiasts. Enjoy!
Wow, Richard. That's great to find so many railway ancestors, as well as to be able to pin down their contribution to the building of the railway. Great story.
Good luck with the railway layout. The standard of "ours" (if I'm allowed to lay a small claim to it!) has been raised relatively recently, now that enough grandchildren are old enough to fully appreciate it and have the necessary skill to "assist" without the risk of disaster!
Thanks, Helen. Glad you enjoyed the huffing and puffing. Hubby is currently working on adding another "all sound" engine to his collection, though this time he's got to install the chip himself. Scary stuff! :-D
It huffs and it puffs! Fascinating, as ever. Can't wait till next time and the murder.
Fascinating Yes, I have interests in both - currently rebuilding my own, but nowhere near that standard!!! We found a lot of railway workers in our investigations: the majority of them labourers (one living on side of road as part of a gang!). What emerged was that several connected families seemed to have set up a network, possibly recommending to other family members that there was good work here for them. They all lived, initially, in the same area, near Leighton Buzzard, and most of them ending up living in or around Willesden, London. it was at the time that the LNWR were building their railway (which later become the LMS) and we reckon our family helped build it all…