My Story: Brian Guilfoye

A parishioner at the railway works – the heart of Crewe.

I was born in 1957, to Lewis and Mona Guilfoyle at 136 Lime Tree Avenue Crewe, the 5^th of 9 children. Both mum and dad worked for the Crosville bus company and both attended St. Marys church regularly. Dad was also the president of the S.V.P. He also received a Papal blessing from Pope John Paul ll, for dedicating his life to charity. Other family members include my sister Kathryn Dykes, and her son Fr. Robert Dykes is my Godson. My brother Mike who has Downs Syndrome also attends 11:30 mass on Sundays.

I started St. Marys infant school at the age of 5 in August 1962, went through to the junior school, both in St. Marys Street, and received the sacraments of Confession, Communion and Confirmation, before moving onto Blessed John Sherd school in Dane Bank Avenue, where I finished in 1972, ( only 4 years secondary education were compulsory until 1972, the 5^th year was voluntary). I was 14, celebrated my 15^th birthday on 13^th July and started at British Rail Engineering Limited, which every local knew as Crewe Works, on August 7th. I was 1 of 120 apprentices that year in Crewe Works training school, 1 of 5000 employees in Crewe Works. My brother Martin had started in 1970. My take home pay was £8,98. " You've got a job for life here" we were all told

There were 2 electrical sections, 2 lathe turning sections, a machining section, a plating and welding section, a coppersmith section and 2 fitting sections. We went round all the sections and after 6 months it was decided which trade you would follow. I was given the label of apprentice fitter. Also in the training school there was classroom work , where you learned about the history of Crewe Works, the various departments and there managers, The instructor who took these classes was called Bob Shilton. He was an old fashioned English gentleman who everybody had time for, unlike the Chief Instructor, Ernie Cope. He was very strict and got on with very few apprentices. He had a bald head and everyone called him chrome dome behind his back. This tradition carried on with every years apprentice intake.

Apart from workshop and classroom work, we also went to South Cheshire College in Dane Bank Avenue on day release. L achieved a City & Guilds qualification.

After the training school, in my second year I went through various departments, learning to repair brake valves, turbo chargers, numerous pumps, compressors and vacuum exhausters.

In my 3^rd year apprenticeship, I went onto bigger projects, diesel power units ( I worked on the prototype High Speed Train power unit when it came in for its first overhaul). I also worked on various classes of locomotive, bogies and brake gear. In this year , I also worked with the future mayor of Crewe and Nantwich, Les Cooper.

During my 4^th and 5^th year apprenticeship, I worked in nearly every department in Crewe Works, learning all the time.

In 1977, I finished my apprentice ship and became a fitter working on unclassified repair in the Erecting shop. This work involved repairing collision damaged and fire damaged loco's, it also involved repairing loco's that had broken down for various reasons.

In 1981, the first of many redundancy rounds came into being and I was moved into the New Repair Shop, working on 8 different types of electric locomotives. This involved stripping the loco's of all their components and sending them around the works for repair. When everything was repaired, we would refit all the components and test the loco before it went back into service. We also did collision repairs on the electric loco's.

After 6 years on the electric locomotives, I volunteered to work on New Construction. This involved building 50 new class 90 loco's. During this time I became a leading hand. This was probably my second best job in Crewe Works, organising workload, materials and filling in time sheets for 80 plus multi skilled staff.

When the class 90 build was complete, I moved onto the new build class 91 loco in 1990, but I wasn't on their long as I volunteered to work on the new build of Mark 4 day coaches. These were the coaches that were to be pulled by the class 91 locomotive. At the end of 1990, they asked for volunteers to work at Metro Camel railway workshops in Birmingham. Because I was a leading hand, I was chosen to lead a small group of between 6 to 10 men at various times.

This to came to an end and I returned to Crewe Works in 1991 and went into the Wheel Shop. My jobs included overhauling wheelsets, axle boxes suspension tubes and gearboxes. It was working on gearboxes thar I had the best time in Crewe Works, I overhauled 9 types of gearbox.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end and my face did not fit with the new management and I left Crewe Works in 2004, having served the first 32 years of my 51 year working life. I was taking home a lor more than £8.98 though. During my time in Crewe Works I worked with and made a lot of good friends, some I have known all my working life and beyond. The camaraderie in Crewe Works was unbelievable, you knew you would have a good laugh before you went home,  there were football competitions, a cricket league, welfare games including darts, dominoes, cribbage, snooker and bowls. I was in the team that won the darts knockout in 1988 and in 1998 I won the darts pairs knockout with a childhood friend. The Erecting Shop Christmas concerts had to be seen to be believed, singers comedians, groups, fancy dress, tug o war, wrestling. There was even a guy who believed he would get a recording contract with a top American singer. This all happened on the morning we broke up for the Christmas holidays, then afterwards in the Western Sports social club in West Street. A lot of money was made for charity, something that will never be repeated.

In my time in Crewe Works there have been many changes in employer, some good, some not so good. From being a nationalised company of British Rail Engineering Limited, to the private companies of BREL. 88, ABB, Adtranz and Bombardier. These all brought in redundancies at various times and losing all the "older men"  to voluntary redundancies, the camaraderie seemed to disappear also. The current employer , Alsthom, employs approx. 259 people.

All in all, my time in Crewe Works was a great learning curve, very productive and very memorable'

The skills I learned in Crewe Works served me well in future employment in the private industry and I eventually found myself working as a fitter on the railway again in 2013 at LNWR/Arriva, before being transferred over to Freightliner in 2016. Some of the fitters in there had worked in Crewe Works, we all agreed we would rather be back in Crewe Works,

During my last years of work I was looking forward to retirement, so I started a working day countdown. It started at 650 days and when I reached my final day, my workmates gave me a great send off.

Since retiring, my time has been filled with gardening , decorating, housework , seeing my 2 grown up kids and 3 grandchildren, but most important, holidays and days out.

• Early Life & Family:

  • Born in 1957 in Crewe, fifth of nine children.

  • Parents worked for Crosville bus company; family active in St. Mary’s Church.

  • Grew up in a close-knit, community-oriented household.

    
    

• Education:

  • Attended St. Mary’s Infant and Junior Schools.

  • Completed secondary education at Blessed John Sherd School.

  • Left school at 14, just as the law changed to make a fifth year voluntary.

    
    

• Starting at Crewe Works:

  • Began apprenticeship at British Rail Engineering Limited (Crewe Works) at age 15.

  • One of 120 apprentices in a workforce of 5,000.

  • Rotated through multiple engineering trades before specializing as a fitter.

  • Attended South Cheshire College on day release, earning a City & Guilds qualification.

    
    

• Apprenticeship & Early Career:

  • Learned to repair a wide range of railway components.

  • Worked on major projects, including the prototype High Speed Train power unit.

  • Gained experience in nearly every department during apprenticeship.

    
    

• Career Progression:

  • Became a fitter in the Erecting Shop, repairing damaged and broken-down locomotives.

  • Moved to the New Repair Shop during redundancy rounds, working on electric locomotives.

  • Volunteered for New Construction, building Class 90 and 91 locomotives and Mark 4 coaches.

  • Promoted to leading hand, managing teams and organizing workloads.

  • Led a small team at Metro Camel railway workshops in Birmingham.

  • Returned to Crewe Works, worked in the Wheel Shop, specializing in gearbox overhauls.

    
    

• Workplace Culture:

  • Strong camaraderie among workers, with sports leagues and social events.

  • Participated in and won darts competitions; enjoyed Christmas concerts and charity events.

  • Noted decline in workplace spirit after rounds of redundancies and company changes.

    
    

• Industry Changes:

  • Experienced multiple changes in ownership (BR, BREL, ABB, Adtranz, Bombardier, Alsthom).

  • Saw workforce shrink and community atmosphere diminish over time.

    
    

• Later Career & Retirement:

  • Left Crewe Works in 2004 after 32 years.

  • Continued working in the railway industry at LNWR/Arriva and Freightliner.

  • Maintained connections with former Crewe Works colleagues.

    
    

• Retirement Life:

  • Enjoys gardening, decorating, housework, and spending time with family and grandchildren.

  • Values holidays and days out.

  • Reflects positively on his time at Crewe Works, appreciating the skills, friendships, and memories gained.