Three decades of changes on the footplate – Lee Davies

On 14th April Lee Davies presented ’Three decades of changes on the Footplate’. This was a review of his career to date working for the railway in the UK. Starting off as a YTS trainee at Ellesmere Port on the Wirral peninsular, working freight trains in and around the area, and passing out on cl.25, cl.37 and cl.47 locomotives . As a passed secondman he was permitted to drive (initially under supervision) around yards and on some local journeys out on the main line. Progressing, Lee passed his driver training on a number of traction types, also the various routes around the area.. Lee witnessed the privatisation of British Railways and worked for the Coal Sector on class 56 locos before moving to Rail Express Systems. This meant him travelling further and learning new traction types – cl.67 and cl.90 and finally locating to Tyne Yard, Newcastle. Lee currently works for Cross Country Trains out of Newcastle and has learned HST and Voyager traction types and a number of new routes. Lee interspersed the talk with personal videos of him driving class 37s etc. which added to an entertaining talk.