On 10 November 1840, a steam locomotive named ‘Surprise’ exploded in Bromsgrove. It killed its crew, Joseph Rutherford and Thomas Scaife. The incident might perhaps…
Last week’s blog post looked at Railway 200, and we speculated about how people might get involved, including through the Railway Work, Life & Death…
By now, hopefully you’ll be aware of ‘Railway 200’ – a partnership campaign marking 200 years of railway travel since the Stockton & Darlington Railway…
It’s not often there’s the chance to tell the story of an ordinary railway worker’s accident on a national platform. James Welland’s 1898 injury offered…
June 2024 saw the 40th anniversary of the closure of Shildon Works, in County Durham. The closure, in 1984, hit Shildon hard, with the loss…
Earlier this month, Darlington’s railway museum opened in its revamped and reimagined format: Hopetown. Previously known as Head of Steam, it occupies the site of…
In the UK, the heritage railway sector is an important contributor to public engagement with the past. We benefit from widespread public interest in the…
John Cockerill William Hibbert George Buckby Richard Shillaker Thomas Shillcock Five men, at work at Manton junction and tunnel, in Rutland, on Saturday 24…
Narrating the lives and losses of young railway workers The second in the occasional series relating to staff accidents at Crewe. Guest author Margaret…
This was the pronouncement from the South Western Star newspaper, on the death of London and South Western Railway (LSWR) gas fitter Ernest Browning.[1] Browning…