New MOOC to explore Working Lives on Britain's Railways

From Tahitia McCabe at the University of Strathclyde's genealogy team:

Just wanted to tell you about a new MOOC (massive open online course) which has been created by colleagues from the English Studies programme here at Strathclyde and the Railway Museum in York. It’s Working Lives on Britain's Railways: Railway History and Heritage and as you might suspect focuses on people working on the railways and their experiences. I think it will be of interest to genealogists! It’s free, offered through FutureLearn and starts at the end of September. Folks can sign up here https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/working-lives-on-the-railway.

And here's the formal description from the course site:

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

Discover Britain's industrial heritage and learn about the lives of British railway workers from 1840-1914.

Explore British railway history and learn what work on the railways was like

On this course, you will investigate the professional lives of the men and women working on the British railways from the 1840s until the First World War.

Using archival materials from the National Railway Museum, you will learn about the mental and physical hardship endured by railway workers, as well as the risks and pleasures that came with working in this new industry.

From Irish Catholic navvies to female office clerks based in industrial cities, you will discover the surprising diversity and complexity of the railway workforce.


What topics will you cover?

You will learn about four categories of railway worker:

• Engine-drivers
• Signallers
• Navvies
• Clerks

You will compare their differing experiences, investigate the physical and mental labour involved in their job and consider some of the following questions:

• What did they do on a daily basis?
• How did this change during this period?
• What were the key responsibilities and risks in their work?
• What were the key pleasures?

You will look at the ways in which railway workers represented their own work, using autobiographies and other primary historical materials.

You will also study how these professions were represented by those with no direct connection to railway labour.

(With thanks to Tahitia)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. My next Scottish Research Online course starts 2 September 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

UK, Register of Railway Employee Injuries and Deaths, 1911-1915 joins Ancestry

On Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk):

Web: UK, Register of Railway Employee Injuries and Deaths, 1911-1915
https://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=70855
Source: http://www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk/: accessed 12th April 2018.

This is the blurb from the original project site:

Welcome to the website for the Railway Work, Life and Death project, a joint initiative between the University of Portsmouth and the National Railway Museum (NRM). We’re aiming to make it easier to find out about railway worker accidents in Britain between 1911 and 1915 – who was involved, what they were doing on the railways, what happened to them and why. Although today most people don’t realise it, working on the railways 100 years ago was incredibly dangerous, with hundreds killed and tens of thousands injured each year.

In this project a team of volunteers from the NRM, to whom we’re immensely grateful, have painstakingly been through reports produced by the state-appointed Railway Inspectorate between 1911 and 1915, detailing investigations into railway worker accidents. They’ve extracted the details found in the reports – things like names, ages, roles, companies and details of the accident – and entered them into a spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is now available, on this website, so that anyone who’s interested can easily learn more about work and accidents on Britain’s railways around the time of the First World War. We think this will be of great interest to all sorts of people: railway enthusiasts, family historians, railway museums and heritage centres, the current railway industry and academics.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Railway work, life and death project

I have been contacted by Dr. Mike Esbester about a University of Portsmouth and National Railway Museum project website underway entitled Railway Work, Life & Death, located at http://www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk/.

From the home page:

Welcome to the website for the Railway Work, Life and Death project, a joint initiative between the University of Portsmouth and the National Railway Museum (NRM). We’re aiming to make it easier to find out about railway worker accidents in Britain between 1911 and 1915 – who was involved, what they were doing on the railways, what happened to them and why. Although today most people don’t realise it, working on the railways 100 years ago was incredibly dangerous, with hundreds killed and tens of thousands injured each year.

In this project a team of volunteers from the NRM, to whom we’re immensely grateful, have painstakingly been through reports produced by the state-appointed Railway Inspectorate between 1911 and 1915, detailing investigations into railway worker accidents. They’ve extracted the details found in the reports – things like names, ages, roles, companies and details of the accident – and entered them into a spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is now available, on this website, so that anyone who’s interested can easily learn more about work and accidents on Britain’s railways around the time of the First World War. We think this will be of great interest to all sorts of people: railway enthusiasts, family historians, railway museums and heritage centres, the current railway industry and academics.


The Railway Work, Life and Death project is making use of accident reports produced by the Railway Inspectorate, the body that was created by the state to oversee railway safety. It is also asking for contributions from the public on any further information that might be available. To access the database of accidents on the platform, please visit http://www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk/the-accidents/ and scroll to the bottom of the page for the link.

(With thanks to Dr. Esbester)

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Final Open Day at Coventry's Electric Railway Museum

From Coventry's Electric Railway Museum (http://electricrailwaymuseum.co.uk):

Final Open Day at Coventry railway museum

Electric Railway Museum will open to the public for the final time this weekend (Sunday 8 October) with organisers promising a fitting send off for the unique Coventry heritage attraction.

Alongside rides on the Museum’s 7 ¼ inch gauge miniature railway, shunting demonstrations and the opportunity to explore its unique collection of electric railway vehicles for the last time, the site’s final Open Day will also arrive with its own Beer & Cider Festival.

In partnership with The Kentish Belle Ale House, Electric Railway Museum will be offering six draft ales, four ciders and a commemorative bottled pale ale, Third R-Ale.

Furthermore, adult visitors won’t need to draw straws as to who is the designated driver, as the Museum will be running a free vintage bus service from Coventry city centre to the site and back throughout the day.

Situated on Rowley Road on land close to Coventry Airport and the Warwickshire village of Baginton, Electric Railway Museum occupies a site earmarked for commercial development.

Landowners Coventry City Council have not renewed the Museum’s lease and, despite concerted efforts by the trustees, volunteers and wider heritage sector behind the scenes, an alternative location for the attraction has not been found.

Electric Railway Museum Chairman, Ian Brown CBE, FCILT, said:

“Despite us failing to secure a single site to house the collection, a long term home has been sourced for almost every item we are currently displaying. Once our doors close to the public on Sunday, the work of dismantling the site begins.

“Myself and the trustees have been humbled from the support of our volunteers, the general public and railways enthusiasts alike, as well as organisations such as the National Railway Museum and the Heritage Railway Association. In fact, the latter’s President, Lord Faulkner of Worcester will be attending our final Open Day to further discuss the issue of electric railway heritage and how this will be preserved following the closure and dispersal of the only such collection in the UK.”

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Electric Railway Museum aims to promote the heritage of all electric trains in the UK through traction and rolling stock restoration, display and operation, along with work in gathering historically relevant technical and photographic archives.

Electric Railway Museum houses the largest private collection of electric trains in the UK and is the only railway museum in Great Britain dedicated to electric traction. A registered charity, the work of the Museum has been entirely run by volunteers and funded through donations from the public.

Despite only open to the public on selected days throughout the year, the Museum attracted more than 2,000 visitors to the region in 2016, and has already exceeded that figure in 2017.

However, the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and joint venture partners Roxhill are hoping to move forward with revised plans for the Coventry and Warwickshire Gateway scheme. Electric Railway Museum is currently situated within the proposed site for this new development and in July this year, the attraction announced it would be forced to close if an alternative site was not found by Sunday 8 October.

Railway historian and Electric Railway Museum Trustee, Graeme Gleaves, said:

“It is with a heavy heart that Electric Railway Museum will have to close this weekend. Rest assured that we will continue to work hard behind the scenes to ensure that locomotives and rolling stock currently on our Coventry site are not endangered.

“However, we want to thank the public for all their support over the past 10 years and will be departing Coventry with our biggest Open Day ever, including a Beer & Cider Festival, free vintage buses between the Museum and city centre, and extended opening hours from 10.30am until 6.30pm.”

Elsewhere, members of the public will be able to climb aboard the Class 457 and one of the Class 309s, complete with the museum display (Museum 309), a café – serving hot and cold beverages, snacks and light bites – and the Electric Railway Museum shop.

Shunting demonstrations will be carried out throughout the day by Spondon Electric Locomotive No. 1 and 165DE Locomotive ‘Mazda’.

Visitors will be able to see the Victoria Line Signalling Centre, which showcases how trains were controlled on the London Underground line when it first opened in the late 1960s.

The display, which opened to the public last September, is housed inside the passenger accommodation area of the Museum’s Class 308 EMU vehicle and features the Victoria Line push-button control desk and line diagrams from the original control room at Cobourg Street.

Furthermore, Electric Railway Museum has two carriage bodies built for the City and South London Railway (C&SLR), the first deep-level underground ‘tube’ railway in the world and today part of London Underground’s Northern Line. The oldest carriage is a timber body on a steel underframe and dates from 1903, the other is from 1907 and, unlike earlier builds, was created all in steel, making it the oldest surviving steel frame carriage in the UK.

Volunteers will be on-hand to explain more about Electric Railway Museum’s diverse collection, which also includes British Railways Classes 307 and 308, as well as the power car for the record-breaking Advanced Passenger Train Prototype (APT-P), on loan from the National Railway Museum.

Electric Railway Museum was formed in 2007 to bring about the urgent need for a permanent home where the rich and lengthy history of electrically powered trains could be presented to the public on one site.

The collection of electric trains at the Museum’s Baginton site represents over a century of technological progress and includes examples of commuter trains, battery-electric locomotives, underground carriages, high speed express units and some of the specialist line side equipment that made them work, such as signalling and current collection apparatus.

Electric Railway Museum

Rowley Road, Near Baginton, Coventry CV3 4LE

Website: www.electricrailwaymuseum.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/electricrailwaymuseum 

(With thanks to Ben Goodwin) 

Chris

My next 5 week long Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course commences Nov 6th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

New railway museum to open in Northern Ireland next year

A wee bit of news from my home patch in Northern Ireland. The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, based in Whitehead, County Antrim, is to open its new £3.1 million museum by April of next year.

For further details of the new facility, read the Carrickfergus Times story at www.carrickfergustimes.co.uk/news/3-1m-museum-to-open-in-whitehead-next-year-1-7619957, and visit the society's website at www.steamtrainsireland.com.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Beginner's Guide to British and Irish Genealogy, A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Royal Naval Seamen and Railway records on Ancestry

Two minor developments from Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) on the collections front:

Web: United Kingdom, Royal Naval Seamen Index, 1853 -1872
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=70684

This is a third party web index to a collection held on the website of the National Archives in England, Series ADM 139. See http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/royal-navy-ratings-service-records-1853-1928/


UK, Railway Employment Records, 1833-1956
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1728

Listed as updated, but no detail as to with what. The original source is again the National Archives in England, with the following records:

RAIL226: Great Central Railway Company
RAIL264: Great Western Railway Company
RAIL397: London and North Eastern Railway Company
RAIL410: London and North Western Railway Company
RAIL411: London and South Western Railway Company
RAIL414: London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
RAIL415: London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company (formerly the East Kent Railway)
RAIL426: London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company
RAIL463: Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company
RAIL491: Midland Railway Company
RAIL1156: Special Collections: Retired Railway Officers' Society

Missing for privacy reasons:

RAIL 264 Great Western Railway Company: Staff Records
Pieces 412, 413, 440, 442, 443, 471-522

RAIL 397 London and North Eastern Railway Company: Staff Records
Piece 13

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Railway accident reports 1900-1910 catalogued on Discovery

The National Archives (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) in England has catalogued Board of Trade Sub-Inspector’s Accident Reports for railway accidents from 1900-1910.

A blog post by Chris Heather, one of the participants in the cataloguing effort, is available at http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/railway-accident-reports-unseen-victims/ and provides a useful case study on what might be found within such a report.

To access Discovery, visit http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including my recently released Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

TheGenealogist releases 60,000 railway worker records

From TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

TheGenealogist releases 60,000 railway worker records.

• More than 60,000 railway workers have been added to the Occupational Records on TheGenealogist
• Find details of railway ancestors, where they were employed and what they did
• Trace your railway worker ancestor’s careers through their promotions
• Discover when they retired
• Read obituaries

The Genealogist has added over 60,000 rail workers to its online indexes of Railway Employment Records. Taken from Railway Company Staff magazines these records are useful to family historians with railway employee ancestors, wanting to find important occupation related dates and add some social history to their family tree. These records include such details as staff changes, promotions, pension records, retirements and obituaries. Often additional personal information is revealed in the magazines. In some cases you can read about gifts from co-workers given when rail staff leave.

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

The latest British GENES podcast is available at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/podcasts.html. For details on my latest book Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, and my other genealogy guide books, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

TNA podcast - Tracing Railway Ancestors

The latest podcast from the National Archives in England is entitled Tracing Railway Ancestors, a 36 minute talk given by Chris Heather.

The podcasts can be listened to at http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/tracing-railway-ancestors/ or downloaded for free from iTunes.

Don't forget also that the new edition of the British GENES podcast is also now available online! For more details visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/second-british-genes-monthly-podcast.html

Chris

For details on my latest book Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, and my other genealogy guide books please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. To commission me for genealogical research, please visit my research site at www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk.

Canadian National Railway Immigrant Records, 1937-1960

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has a new collection which may be of interest if your ancestors worked in the railways and emigrated to Canada in the 20th century:

Canada, Canadian National Railway Immigrant Records, 1937-1960
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=9211

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And please consider purchasing the great new version of Caledonia by The Libations at 79p via www.caledonia2014.com - all profits go to help fund Scottish foodbanks

National Railway Museum research centre hours cuts

The National Railway Museum at York has announced cuts to the opening hours of its archive and library facility (www.nrm.org.uk/ResearchAndArchive.aspx). The new plan is to reduce the opening hours to four days a week, Wednesdays to Saturdays, from the current seven days a week access. The new set up will start next week, from Monday 17th March.

The full story is available at www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/11076629.Cuts_announced_at_York_museum/

(With thanks to Anne Outterson by email)

Chris

Time to find your inner Irish...! All the best online Irish genealogy resources can be found through my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - in print and ebook formats. "Very useful, makes me wish I was Irish!" - Saint Patrick, patron saint.

Tay Bridge Disaster memorials to be unveiled

Two memorials are to be unveiled on either side of the River Tay to commemorate those whose lives were lost in the Tay Bridge Disaster of December 28th 1879, when a railway bridge gave way over the river, killing some 59 people.

The BBC has the story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-25527719.

Chris

My latest book, Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records, is now available from http://www.gould.com.au (print) and http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html (ebook), whilst Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet is available at http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-History-on-the-Internet/p/3889/.

TheGenealogist adds railway workers database

From TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

Did your ancestor work on Britain’s historic Railways?

It used to be every young boy’s dream to be a steam engine driver and many joined the Railways to achieve their dream or be a part of this exciting, fast developing industry.

Railway mania swept Britain in the 1800s as this new form of transport was developed. The latest records now available on TheGenealogist encompass nearly 1.5 million railway workers, with exact details on their job role and their date of birth. From station master to train guard, they’re all listed in the Railway records.

It’s the first time you can search all the railway workers in one online resource, allowing family historians to find their ancestors in what became one of Britain’s biggest growth industries of the 1800s.

Covering all levels of employment on the railways

The new records encompass all levels of railway worker from train driver, guard, signaller, office staff to labourers, literally anyone who worked on the railways in England and Wales.

The records are all fully searchable using the ‘SmartSearch’ features on TheGenealogist making it easy to find the records of your ancestors. It’s now possible to search by employer, by job title, by date of birth and by county to track down your railway ancestor. The keyword filtering option is particularly useful for narrowing down you search to specific job titles.

Head of Online Content at TheGenealogist, Mark Bayley comments: “The new railway records are a unique way to trace your ancestors from their occupation. Finding your ancestor here gives you a snapshot into how they lived and worked. If they were a highly respected engine driver or made a career in a support role, they were all part of an incredible time of change and development in Britain.”

COMMENT: I've just carried out a test search using the name John Smith (always works!), and in the first result returned I find a John Smith, who was a 25 year old 'labourer on railway', born 1816 and located at Snelson, Macclesfield, Cheshire. Useful as this may be, I can't see any information whatsoever on the return, the site, or within the press release, as to the actual source for this information, which is equally crucial for genealogists. I've emailed to ask for this, and will hopefully update accordingly. From what I can gather, this collection applies only to England and Wales.

(With thanks to David Osborne)

UPDATE: I've received the following on the source matter...

"The new Railway Workers Collection contains records from a number of different sources and various record sets, including TNA Cornish Railway Worker records, railway magazines, pension records, occupational and staff records and is part of a growing major collection on TheGenealogist which will expand extensively over the coming months. The new railway records will be available through our 'master search' by the weekend. It's currently available through our Occupational Records section."

I'm not a hundred per cent sure that that qualifies well enough for most genealogists I know looking to cite material in a client report! I have sent another message asking for further clarification - which archives are the records sourced from (is it TNA?), what accession numbers for the individual collections in question, what years for coverage, etc?

UPDATE 6/7/2013: Thanks to Nigel Bayley, managing director of The Genealogist, who has informed me that this is an early release from a collection that will become much bigger in the next few weeks and months, and that the source information will be made available in due course for the records contained within.

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!

The Genealogist - new additions

New on The Genealogist (www.thegenalogist.co.uk):

Cornish Railwaymen

We have added Cornish Railwaymen to our Diamond subscription. This lists the names of all the men employed by the Cornwall Railway at the time of its take-over by the Great Western Railway Company on 15 June 1889.

Information includes (where available) names, occupations, places of work, wages or salaries, dates of entering service, and dates of birth for the officers and clerks.

Directories

New to our Directories section is the Cheshire History, Gazetter and Directory 1860. This is now available for all Diamond subscribers.

School, College & University Registers

We have added Cambridgeshire, Graduati Cantabrigienses 1500-1872 to our collection of School, College & University Registers.


TNA Names

Containing over 36,000 records covering various sources all over the UK, this is a great resource for those looking for documents at the National Archives. The full document reference is given for each name, along with some personal details where available.

Directories

We have added the following directories to all Gold and Diamond subscriptions:

Kelly's Directory of Barnet 1919-1920
Lancashire, Manchester Slaters Directory 1856


Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!

New railway museum underway at Whitehead

A new heritage engineering museum and visitor attraction is being constructed by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland at Whitehead, near Carrickfergus. The facility will be opened next year. The RPSI is the only operator of mainline steam trains in Ireland, with operations at both Whitehead and Dublin.

The full story is available at www.carrickfergustimes.co.uk/lifestyle/entertainment/landmark-day-with-first-element-of-4m-heritage-investment-1-4404976#.UI5MmvFdH8k.twitter

(With thanks to @Carrick_Times)

Chris

Scotland 1750-1850 - 5 weeks online Pharos course, £45.99, taught by Chris Paton from 2 NOV 2012 - see www.pharostutors.com
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)