Peter Townend - Top Man from Top Shed.

This video is dedicated to the memory of railwayman Peter Norman Townend who passed away in October 2023 at the age of 98. Born in 1925 Peter became a “premium” apprentice at the London and North Eastern Railway’s Doncaster works where many of the famous “Pacific” locomotives designed by Sir Nigel Gresley had been built. As a child Peter witnessed the A1s, A3s, and A4s running at high speed through Doncaster as they hauled express trains like the Flying Scotsman, Silver Jubilee, Coronation and West Riding Limited. Later, from 1956 to 1963, the pinnacle of his career came as shedmaster at King’s Cross in charge of many of those same locomotives and the hundreds of men who cleaned, drove and fired them. After he retired Peter wrote “Top Shed” about the depot’s history and his experiences of running it. In April 2011 he was invited to travel from his home in the West Country to the Southall loco shed, the main base for steam hauled excursions from London. The visit was to meet engineer Roland Kennington and his team of volunteers who were busy putting the final touches to the “rebranding” of A4 Bittern as 4492 Dominion of New Zealand, one of the five “Empire” engines created for the L.N.E.R. Coronation train in 1937. As high speed diesel trains passed by Peter was happy to give this interview recalling his childhood and career.