Oral history interview with Michael Beswick, conducted and recorded by Michael Lee in Hertfordshire on 10 September 2018. Duration: 2 hr. 3 min. 13 sec. Personal background; pre-1992 considerations on InterCity privatisation; 1992 election; implications for InterCity business and brand; John Ellis (InterCity Deputy Managing Director); Roger Salmon (Franchising Director) and John Swift (Rail Regulator) appointed; government urgency; Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC); Roger Freeman (Minister of Transport); paper on fares regulation leaked; joining Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR); ORR initially a small organisation; privatisation structure goes live; plans to privatise Railtrack; approving track access contracts; moderation of competition; Project Control Group; performance regimes; preparing to privatise Railtrack; Relationships with Franchising Director; regulating Railtrack; sale of Railtrack; benefits and disappointments about privatisation Michael Beswick interviewed by Michael Lee 2018-09-10
Oral history interview with Michael Lee, conducted and recorded by David Wharton-Street (session 2) at the interviewee's home in Hertfordshire on 23 May 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 35 min. 31 sec. Creation of Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF) teams for each franchise; South Central and West Anglia-Great Northern (WAGN) franchises; franchise length; forms and process documentation; successful bidders for South Central and WAGN; Transportation Consultants International (TCI); AEA Technology; Office of Rail and Road (ORR); open access; manipulation of Operational Research Computerised Allocation of Tickets to Services (ORCATS); ORR business plan and monitoring; disruption compensation; Network Rail; Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) and rail safety; ORR’s risk register; Network Rail devolution; investment scheme overruns and cost escalation; British Rail (BR) investment in developing people; overseas privatisations; Control Period (CP) 5 and Northern England; sectorisation; reflections on privatisation; Williams Review Michael Lee interviewed by David Wharton Street (session 2 of 2) 2019-05-23
Oral history interview with John Rhodes, conducted and recorded by Michael Lee at the interviewee's home in Hertfordshire on 18 April 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 30 min. Department of the Environment; West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE); British Rail Headquarters Business Review department; Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR); privatisation model; advising on the Railways Bill; developing regulation approach; industry financial structure; privatisation objectives; role at ORR; open access operators; Train Operating Units; decision to privatise Railtrack; Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC); Organising for Quality (OfQ); funding stability; rolling stock companies (ROSCOs); working with Office of Rail Passenger Franchising (OPRAF); trainload freight businesses; ticket retailing; risk transfer and passenger franchises John Rhodes interviewed by Michael Lee 2018-04-18
British Rail (Eastern Region) brochure "Your New Electric Railway - The Great Northern Suburban Electrification" describing proposed electrification from Moorgate and King's Cross to Hertford, Welwyn, Royston etc., May 1973. 17pp. Your New Electric Railway - The Great Northern Suburban Electrification 1973
500ml amber glass bottle with green plastic lid full of syrup of red poppy B.P.C. 1949. 210 mm x 65 mm diameter, 1052 g. Made by Ransom and Son, English, 1952-1970. 500ml amber glass bottle with green plastic lid full of syrup of red poppy B.P.C. 1949. 210 mm x 65 mm diameter 1952-1970
Oral history interview with Michael Lee, conducted and recorded by David Wharton-Street (session1) at the interviewee's home in Hertfordshire on 15 May 2019. Duration: 2 hr. 53 min. 12 sec. Early career; Operational Research; British Rail Engineering Inventory Control; traffic forecasting for small bore version of Channel Tunnel; development and implementation of Operational Research Computerised Allocation of Tickets to Services (ORCATS); sectorisation made possible; Serpell Report; challenged by British Rail (BR); forecasting passenger train loadings and revenue; introduction of Class 43 High Speed train (HST); Age of the Train advertising; InterCity service modelling; move to Network SouthEast (NSE) as Economic Survey Officer; change in passenger loadings; London and South East travelcards; Central London Rail Study; Thameslink; Crossrail; Monopolies & Mergers Commission (M&MC) inquiry into NSE; monitoring passenger satisfaction; second inquiry; Service Route Manager; negotiating with Southern Region management who delivered service; interface between General Manager Southern Region and NSE; Organising for Quality (OfQ); Sub-Sector Planning & Marketing Manager; Head of Strategic Planning NSE; train operating units (TOUs); Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF); structure; liaison with BR and Department for Transport (DfT); development of Passenger Service Requirement (PSR) policy; Save Our Railways; passenger transport executives (PTEs); fares regulation; Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC); Rail Settlement Plan (RSP); fares and franchising; subsidy; types of franchise bidders Michael Lee interviewed by David Wharton Street (session 1 of 2) 2019-05-15
Oral history interview with David Wharton-Street, conducted and recorded by Michael Lee at the interviewer's home in Hertfordshire on 28 June 2019. Duration: 3 hr. 38 min. 43 sec. Early career; Acting Director Regional Railways North East (RRNE) 1990; British Railways Board Safety Department 1993; Safety & Standards Department; Railtrack secondment 1994; sectorisation; proposed closure of Settle & Carlisle line 1993; DalesRail trains deal; Friends of Settle & Carlisle; management of Settle & Carlisle route; Operational Research Computerised Allocation of Tickets to Service (ORCATS); Accountancy and Passenger Ticket Issuing System (APTIS); Portable Operated Ticket Issuing System (PORTIS); Class 47; Class 15x Sprinters; Ribblehead Viaduct repair; closure process; infrastructure maintenance issues; Hellifield signalbox; Serpell Report; Bob Reid 1; Jim O’Brien; Settle & Carlisle put up for sale; West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE); closure situation overview development of ORCATS; Computer Analysis of Passenger Revenue Information System (CAPRI); Monopolies & Mergers Commission (M&MC); Profit Planning & Cost Centre Analysis (PP&CCA); Accounting and Expenditure Information System (AXIS); development of Sector Accounting and Monitoring System (SPAMS); Local Vehicle Record System (LOVERS); Rail Vehicle Record System (RAVERS); sectorisation and structural change; Frank Paterson; David Rayner; RRNE management team; Mark Causebrook; David Prescott; Charles Devereux; Don Jary; RRNE after Organising for Quality (OfQ); Track Access Development Team; electrification; track cost allocation; financial penalties; prime user; costing; privatisation and timescales; safety; Safety Critical Staff Protocol David Wharton-Street interviewed by Michael Lee 2019-06-28