Some of you may know a book called I tried to Run a Railway, by Gerard Fiennes. First published in 1967 and now republished, a birthday gift last week from my daughter. Fiennes joined the LNER in 1928 and ended up as a very senior manager in BR. He was effectively sacked for writing this book, in which he criticised the constant reorganisations which got in people’s way. (Familiar to anyone who ever worked in a university.) I found some of this to be nearly as incomprehensible as A Brief History of Time. But he does have lots to say about Beeching etc. A good, if bewildering read.
Hello All, I got the original in 1967 , and I still think it is an excellent and relevant book on how to run a real railway to this day . I always had the feeling that Gerald did not suffer fools gladly , but always backed up his staff , the latter being an important lesson for any manager . If your staff are right , you back them up , otherwise you permanently loose their respect , and senior managers will walk all over you , not a nice position to be in . I was also impressed with his comments about fixing the little niggles that if ignored end up becoming a major headache down the track . All in all a good read with sound advice. Regards, Echidna
