Railway staff records on Ancestry

[Coromandel]

Lots of UK railway staff records have just appeared on Ancestry. Their blurb says:

The most common record type in the database is a staff register. Others include station transfers, pension and accident records (which can include death date), apprentice records (which can include father's name), caution books, and memos.

Records will typically list an employee’s name, station, position, birth date or age, and various other details, such as salary, date entered service, and transfer information. For example, caution books list offenses employees were written up for and include name, date, grade, station, years of service, and date of suspension if applicable. Salary and wage registers list name, name of person recommending an employee for a position, date of appointment, salary or wage, dates of pay raises or decreases, age at the time the employee joined the railways, promotions, and remarks, which can mention transfers to different stations.

Records can be searched by name, birth year, event year, station, or company. Or they can be browsed by volume. In the browse, unless otherwise identified, the books are staff registers.

These are all records from TNA. The ones included so far are:

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

[Jeuel]

I've already found some people related to my lot by marriage.

[v.wells]

Thanks Coromandel for this bit of information! I have one that I must find. What a help you are! Now if I can just find who I am looking for that would be great news. Off to take a look.

[StintonLomas]

Hi
I found the record of my platelayer GGuncle's death and it even had a note of how much the company paid for his funeral.

[valspall]

Hi, maybe I am missing something but I can't find these records on Ancestry? What title search should I use? My William GALE gives his occupation as Railway Foreman in 1885 when he was living in Islington & I'd be keen to see if there is any info on him.

[Coromandel]

Hi, maybe I am missing something but I can't find these records on Ancestry? What title search should I use? My William GALE gives his occupation as Railway Foreman in 1885 when he was living in Islington & I'd be keen to see if there is any info on him.

Hi valspall

Sorry I didn't mention the full title of the new database, which is 'UK, Railway Employment Records, 1833-1963'. Bizarrely it seems to be in the 'Schools, Directories & Church Histories' section! You can also find it in the 'What's new' section of Ancestry.co.uk or 'recent databases' in Ancestry Library Edition (there's a link on the home page in each case).

[valspall]

Thanks Coromandel - found the records! Sadly I can't find my man. Oh well.

[Waitabit]

Not found mine either. Believe he was a shy man. Too busy in his Signal box to notice records being taken.

[valspall]

Maybe your man & mine were in there playing cards together!

[Colin Rowledge]

A useful addition. While I couldn't find my maternal grandfather in the records for G.W.R I was successful in obtaining a brief notice of his death from the Swindon Library.

Maybe as they add more, if the records for G.W.R are not complete yet, he'll show up in due course.

Patience is a virtue,
Virtue is a grace
Grace is a little girl
who never washed her face.

My wife's most common comment when I can't find what I want, when I want it!!

Colin