Railway Workers Gallery

Shunter in the wartime blackout, c.1940

Blackouts were challenging times for some GWR employees, as this image of a shunter taken at Bristol shows. Limited lighting during an air raid posed a serious health and safety risk, especially in busy depots or marshalling yards. Even in daylight the task of coupling and uncoupling wagons was a dangerous job. But at night it was even worse and during a blackout it must have been a daunting experience, even for a skilled shunter. Shunters were required to use lamps that had shades attached. This meant they were less visible to aircraft during an air raid, but it also had a negative impact on their working visibility

Women workers in the Permanent Way Dept at Reading, 1943

Three ladies from the Permanent Way Department are pictured here at Reading in April 1943 off-loading wooden blocks from a wagon. This photograph is an official Company image, with GWR Chief Engineers Office, Aldermaston. Photographic Department stamped on the reverse. The photo may have been taken to show the work of women during the war, but equally it might have been taken to show joint working between the GWR and LMS whose wagon features in the image. Inter-railway working between the railway companies was actively encouraged by the Government during the war as a means of maintaining an efficient and economic rail service, so staff and rolling stock worked across the different networks in a way that had not been seen previously

Female Ticket Collector, c.1918

A lone female ticket inspector stands inside an unidentified station punching a hole in the ticket she is checking. As the war progressed and more and more men went to fight, the range of jobs women were offered grew more varied and challenging. Many women relished the opportunities being offered to them and not only excelled in the new roles that they were undertaking, but found it difficult to return to their former way of life once the war had ended and they had to relinquish the positions they held to the men returning home

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