A Locoman's Log

Tony Carter was born in the station house at Seaton Junction, on the Southern Railway in Devon, where his father was station master, and thus began an interest in and eventual career on the railway that continued until his retirement in 1992.

From his first job as a Clerk at Southwick, Tony moved onto various clerical positions until he became station master at Steyning, where he remained until the station's closure in the Beeching era. The Beeching Report and its consequences were to change the railway scene forever, and soon the days of the self-contained country station with its staff, signal box and goods yard would be gone forever, and gone with them a way of life portrayed so vividly and amusingly here. Gone also of course were the many hardships and inconveniences that were part of a station master’s lot on the ‘old’ railway.

From trainee booking clerk to ‘consumer care’ and computerised traffic control at a major London terminus, Tony Carter’s fascinating reminiscences tell of the dramatically changing role of railway staff and their myriad duties on ‘the other side of the window’. First published by SLP in 1992, this popular title sold out very quickly and is now reprinted with a stunning new cover in series with Silver Link's recent best selling railway biographies..