Permanent Way,Bishop Aukland,1899- railway connection??

[grace bc]

Looking at an old newspaper clippings from the Northern Echo (20/12/1933 - "Winston Diamond Wedding") in Darlington library I've found out that my husband's great grandfather , a Mr John Ellerton worked as a railway signalman and was then "in charge of the permanent way in Winston" in 1899. I know that Winston is not far from Durham and that Bishop Aukland was an important railway station and I'm intrigued about his job. My mum-in-law thinks he was a station master, could this be what it means??

[AnnB]

Hello Grace
Have just had a quick Google and found https://www.permanentwayinstitution.com/ which should answer your question. He must have been in charge of maintaining the track.
Best wishes
Ann