Western Manager

Description

Lance Ibbotson (1909-98) was a career railwayman who served his apprenticeship on the LNER. He worked his way up through various clerical and managerial grades, providing him with a broad and comprehensive knowledge of the working of the ‘old’ railway. In 1950 he was offered the chance to move to the Western Region of the newly nationalised British Railways, where again he undertook a variety of managerial roles until being appointed General Manager in 1966. His roles took him to many locations around the Region where new works were being undertaken, and luckily for us he took his camera with him.

This selection of views taken during the years 1959 to 1963 gives us a unique behind-the-scenes look at railway developments on the WR. These include the introduction of the new diesel-hydraulic locomotives in the late 1950s, the naming of ‘Evening Star’ and the opening of Margam marshalling yard in 1960, and the rebuilding of Plymouth station in 1962. There are also portraits of his seldom-photographed WR contemporaries. The photographs are supported by comprehensive captions, together with a biography and description of Ibbotson’s long and varied railway career.