Thornaby Railway Yard

A Memory of Thornaby-on-Tees.

Mt Dad worked in the Thornaby railyard for British railways. Whenever my Mam took us into Stockton on the bus for market day, I would always check with her to see if I could see Dad working and maybe wave to him. I am sure he never saw me, but it was always exciting. I remember the coach painters and families would get together once a year and go on a bus trip together. Always stopping at a cafe along the way. My Mam and the other ladies would check the lettuce to make sure there were no caterpillars hiding underneath the tomatoes. ( there generally was ) During a visit to the North East from the Royal family, my Dad was chosen to do the lettering on the trains that would be pulled up in the station as they alighted the train. We were very proud of that. He was a meticulous artist and did some beautiful oil paintings for our family. I believe the yard had a soccer team and my Dad was on the board of managers. During World war 2 he worked as a fireman at South Bank working with Bernard Hardwick and others I don`remember but stayed life long friends. If anyone had relatives working at the Thornaby yard I would love to hear your memories. Muriel Redd ( nee Jenkins )

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