Further Ramblings of Railwaymen - Chapter 8 - Fred Johnson - (Part 1)

I first met Fred when I was a young 23 year-old ‘passed man’ attending a Type 3 1550hp Crompton course in October 1969. This was my second course at the Training School at Waterloo South Side, my first course having been taken earlier that year on EMU (Electric Multiple Units) which was the initial traction that I learnt, being passed out for Driving by Instructor Bob Phillips.

Fred was an absolute gentleman of the old school (if you can excuse the pun) and had a certain way of teaching that became invaluable to me later on when I myself joined the Training School as an Instructor in 1987.

There weren’t many types of Traction on the Southern that Fred didn’t teach ranging from Hymeks, Type 3 Cromptons, Brush Type 4s Class 50s, Type 4 ‘Warships’, DEMU’s, DMMU’s, Class 158/159 Diesel Units, 204hp Shunters, Ruston Shunters, and 350hp Shunters as well as EMU Traction.

His expertise on Rules & Regulations was also second to none and he could quote rules from the BR Rule-Book page, line and paragraph!

Fred sadly passed away in March 2020, but just prior to this, he still retained an amazing ‘photographic’ memory and could recall tales from his past with ease and gave me journals and notebooks containing names of some 4000 men and women that he has trained during his career as an Instructor.

Fred joined the railway as an engine cleaner at Salisbury in March 1948 but was turned away when he first applied as a 14-year old and was told to come back when he was 16.
Here is Part 1 of the stories he relayed to me.