Genealogy Chat

I have a Ralph Robinson born in Portsmouth. Hampshire in 1894 and he worked at Eastleigh, Southampton railway. How do I go about getting details of his railway life. We have the usual family saying that he drove the Flying Scotsman but doesn't everyone?? Are any details accessible on the Internet?? Thanks

Hi Janet, I used to work at the Ashford Railway Works, also on the southern Region of the old British Rail. I did visit Eastleigh Works occasionally. If you would like to know more about Eastleigh, try this website: http://www.localhistories.org/eastleigh.html I don't think it will give you much detail but it will give you an idea of where he worked. Doubtful if he was on the Flying Scotsman, that was an LNER, (BR Eastern Region), engine and Eastleigh was Southern. Don't know what the fuss was about with the Scotsman, the Southern Railway also had some excellent engines, especially the West Country, Merchant Navy, Schools and Lord Nelson classes. Read up on these and you will know what sort of working life your relative had. Regards, Bernie

There are a lot of personnel records relating to the old railway companies (incl. GWR) at Kew. It might be worth trying some searches on A2A to see if any likely records are within range of you. Christine