1955 Railway Strike
 

When I was a young fireman at Enfield we ASLEF members came out on strike, The strike lasted about 2 weeks and the drivers got an increase in pay but firemen got very little or maybe nothing, After 55 years it's difficult to remember all the details.

British Pathe Newsreel about the strike.

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=39389

I can't belive how biased this report is, lol its even worse than The Sun's style of reporting re Industrial Action. Very interesting all the same, shame on the crew that worked the Flying Scotsman!

1955 Strike
 

[QUOTE=Anon Mouse;40700 shame on the crew that worked the Flying Scotsman![/QUOTE]

Hi Anon Mouse not all footplatemen came out on strike as some were not ASLEF men and were members of the non striking NUR (National Union of Railwaymen) Having said that most NUR footplatemen came out with us. Any that did work were called scabs. I do believe that some higher grade manegerial staff worked some trains.(about time some of them got their hands dirty, not to mention them getting backache hehe)

Back in the 70s we had a series of strikes over flexible rostering it only lasted a few days but same as the 55 strike it brought the country to a standstill and also a lot of bitterness between work colleagues.

ccmmick.

Strike 1955
 

Hi ccmmick. So the problems between work colleagues have not changed that much over the years, do you still call strikebreakers scabs. Also which unions represent footplate staff nowadays..

I can't speak for today but back at that time yes there was a lot of bitterness.
They are still called scabs and its not an overnight thing it goes on for years and years, men who were best mates changed overnight.
ASLEF NUR is now RMT and TSSA are still the three rail unions.
I don't know what would happen in todays railways if there was a strike i don't think it would last that long, today it's more like to be work to rule which should be done anyway.

ccmmick.

1955 was my birthday year so of course I have no personal recollection of the strike! However, one effect of the 1955 Railway Strike was felt at Toddington, Gloucestershire, now the HQ of the Glos Warks Railway. Toddington Station, since opening in 1906, had always been a centre for the collection of fruit for transportation by rail, mainly to London or the West Midlands. Being on the edge of the famous fruit growing Vale of Evesham this was to be expected. Indeed, Toddington was far more important for foodstuff carriage than passenger services. However, for the growers, the 1955 strike was the last straw(berry!) and, once the strike was over, the fruit never came back for rail delivery and always went by road, as it does now. This was just a small example of how industrial action can, perhaps unwittingly, completely decapitate a source of railway trade. After 1955, UK Governments would not be held to account by nationalised industries (strange really because they were nationalised!) and, by dint of various policies, we have seen those industries decline ever since (I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with this policy - it just happened). The most (in)famous head girl of my daughter's school was one such politician - she took on the might of the coal miners and won (well why start a mining strike in early spring and when all the stocks of coal at power stations were full?). People have very opinated views of "that woman", many unprintable, but she was more of a leader than any of the ingratiating little toads that are supposed to represent our interests in the world today. Popularity doesn't always get the job done.

As a lifelong Labour voter and Trade Unionist.......and a true red socialist I think its best I make no further input on the thread..............;)

Yes you are right Anon enough said if people have any views on the matter i think it should be said in a PM :( :( :(.

ccmmick.

A very interesting post Ted but I'm not that interested in discussing politics on the forum. All the best.

It wasn't intended as a political discussion, it was just an example of how the 1955 Railway Strike had a knock-on effect on a very small part of the railway goods traffic on what is now a well known heritage line. Well, I'll admit the last bit might be - but I suppose that's a statement on political leadership rather than on politics per se. I shall say no more on the matter except that this is a democracy, the worst form of government, apart from all the others!

Hi Ted I'm glad that's sorted now we can move on, all the best.

aslef strike 1955
 

As a mere and very young spotter in 1955, and without wishing to denigrate the reasons behind the strike, may I say how wonderful it was to visit depots with double their normal number of locos on shed.
It's an ill wind etc........... but for us young lads it was a wonderful, never to be forgotten, time.

Just a footnote here. I am glad Ted did raise a few issues around the collapse of freight after the strike.

It was an unintended consequence but it was a fact and I saw a very interesting interview on TV a few years ago with an ex Union Boss who sort of admitted that it was an own goal as it cost many of his members their jobs.

After that, apart from minerals and bulk traffic, freight declined rapidly. True it was more than just the strike but private industry lost confidence in the industry then, as is still the case in France where rail strikes still happen fairly frequently.

I have mixed feelings about privatisation but for freight it has been a huge success and long may that continue.

The flexible rostering disputes were in the start of the 1980's.
It was about leaving the 8 hour day, and working shifts from 6hrs upto 12 hours.
This FR effected al traincrew eg guards secondmen and drivers.
When these ASLEF stikes came on, we signed on at the depot and went in the mess room and watched the TV all day.
No trains were worked as there were no drivers.
We had a few NUR drivers but they had one off in support of ASLEF

Without wishing to comment on the rights and wrongs of the 1955 strike, Toddington Ted makes some good points. Indeed, the strike may have contributed to some of the lBeeching closures in the 1960's - the main people to benefit were the car makers and the road transport industry. Commuters deprived of trains for 2 weeks looked for alternative transport, and quite a lot bought cars, never to return to rail transport. Likewise, the railways lost a lot of freight business due to the strike. And the Government recognised that sizeable parts of the country could exist without railways.

Exactly. Although I was very young at the time, I have always believed that the constant strikes after 1955 effectively did the government's dirty work for them. Someone who handled railway parcels told me he noticed how much less business he had after each strike.

I respest people's right to strike but it should be a last resort.

It's interesting that the Rail Unions constantly call for re-nationalisation. At the moment rail strikes cannot cripple the entire network as a dispute can only be with one company at a time. (Network rail could be crippled but most strike calls there have failed)

Do they want that power back? The have it on London's Underground and have levered in for some employees substantial rewards.

I think that most people have realised in the past few years that the biggest losers in any strike are the strikers! How many people can afford to lose a full weeks wages? How long will it take to make up that loss? I took part in a strike at British Aiways in the 70's and it played havoc with the family finances for at least 12months. The Union bosses still swanned around in their Union cars, coming to the mass meetings to whip up support for the strike that didn't affect them.