Features

Toton Engineman Review

I first started to read Toton Engineman – The Autobiography of a Railwayman, published by our sister magazine Steam World, when I picked up a set of proofs in the office, writes Norman Wright. I was captivated. Then they were whisked away to the printer.

I couldn’t wait for the finished product to arrive, something I never thought I would say about a railway book. This is so much more than that. It’s a social history of British working life in the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies, cataloguing many of the huge changes we have all lived through. 

I couldn’t wait for the finished product to arrive, something I never thought I would say about a railway book. This is so much more than that. It’s a social history of British working life in the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies, cataloguing many of the huge changes we have all lived through.

When John Woolley started work at the Toton marshaling yards near his home at Long Eaton between Nottingham and Derby in 1954, he had the burning ambition to be a driver. That meant starting at the bottom armed with an oily rag as an engine cleaner.

John progressed to fireman on the footplate of those steam machines – a skilled job in itself – and achieved his ambition to drive trains on the Midland line but only after diesel power had taken over from steam. He finished his career as a manager with responsibility for area freight operations including the Toton yards. After retiring with 40 years’ service, John wrote this story of his working life.

It’s full of the characters who worked in all areas of the railway business; they were often highly skilled, without much formal education, and were dedicated to the railway industry but fiercely independent.

Sadly, John died in 1998 after enjoying only four years of retirement. His manuscript lay unpublished but it was an ambition of his wife Caryl and daughters Helen and Sarah to see it in print. An overheard conversation alerted Steam World consultant editor Nigel Harris to its existence and he joined the drive of the Woolley family to fulfill their dream.

With more than 200 wonderful pictures, beautifully printed and produced in hardback, the book is priced at £19.95 (ISBN 978-0992739805). You can buy it direct for £21.90, including £1.95 towards postage and packing, from Steam World (Toton Offer), Steam World Publishing, First Floor, 2 King Street, Peterborough PE1 1LT by cheque, or to pay by card, tel: 01733 427513.

Love this? Visit our Steam World Website at www.steamworldmag.co.uk

Other stories in Features

"We’re such country bumpkins”
“I’m a restless person by nature”
Hallowed hall of fame
Still time for tearooms
The Making of Les Mis
Our Greatest Gardens
Great garden getaways
Dating in later Life
Stay at home mum and author re-ignite's her career
Over 40s Named Most Successful Online Daters
Scared to Shop!
Men in Sheds
Getting older and disabled drivers behind the wheel
Guide for choosing clothes for older relatives
Martina Navratilova: "I Always Question Authority"
1 in 10 care home residents rated activities ‘poor'
Remembering the Heroic Olympians
1966 and All That
"You never know what's round the corner"
Thank you, Brewood
Bradley Walsh "Variety is great for the soul"
Autumn Dangers for Older Cyclists and Pedestrians
Community Dance School achieves National Success
The Enduring Power of the Unknown Soldier
45-54 year olds worst offenders for texting and driving
"Turning 60 can't be that bad!"Jennifer Saunders
Make eating breakfast a resolution which sticks, with milk&more
Peter Capaldi: "I like characters who are strange"
Twiggy: "I thought the world had gone mad"
The real life notebook?
All shook up...The day that Elvis died
I always think I'm going to get found out
Staffordshire Day
Monty Python: Something completely different
The world of Parry Ray
Nicole Kidman "Children are the joy of my life"
Volunteering Week Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
Hank Marvin: “Meeting Cliff changed my life”
The Beatles: It was 50 years ago...
Queen Elizabeth: Happy and Glorious
Death of a Princess
"He's a nine month old baby in an adult's body"
"I feel like the unluckiest person in the world."
Worried about being worried?
What a Carry On!
Choice Christmas Gift Guide
Do you remember? Apple Records
Craig Revel Horwood: "I don't care what people say about me"
Puffin photos help to tackle decline of the 'clowns of the sea'
8 tips to stay toasty this winter
Love Your Gut Week Recipes
Emilia Fox: "I've learnt to find my own voice"
Gary Oldman: "Acting is an antidote to self hatred"
Blue Peter: Here's one they made earlier
London's other underground
Petula Clark: "I make the most of every moment"
Headphones with a built in hearing test
Ringo Starr "I'm learning to handle life"
How to get the best night's sleep, every night
How to Earn Money by Working from Home
Nana Mouskouri "Music brings me peace, love and hope"
Generation split for World Cup Drinking Habits
Bill roache "It's a real privilege to make people happy"
Cheltenham Literature Festival: Guest Curators
True wireless headphone enables users to hear every detail
John Lennon & Yoko Ono: 'Imagine'
Bognor and other Regises
Do you remember? UFO
Women in WW1
Franco Manca pledge to donate 20,000 pizzas this Christmas