Historical Background

Well into the 20th century, it was the childhood ambition many small boys to be an engine driver when they grew up. Drivers were the first group of railway servants to join the aristocracy of labour. By 1865 some of them earned more than 40 shillings per week, more than twice the income of most workers [I]. As well as high wages they had continuity of work, an unusual level of security for most workers during the 19th century.

Drivers had to be highly literate at a time when compulsory schooling lasted a mere 5 or 6 years. They had to be self-motivated to gain the level of literacy required to follow the books of regulations and understand the continuous flow of amendments like these issued by the Midland Railway in April 1856.

"some difficulty having arisen in carrying out rule number 64 in the Company's Book of Rules and Regulations, in consequence of misapprehension between drivers and Pointsmen as to which line should, in some cases, be considered the Main line - and which the Branch, the following regulations have been drawn up for the guidance of drivers and pointsmen in the matter, and the particular attention of Drivers is called to the great importance of a strict observance of them.
In order that the Pointsmen may be at all times able to distinguish on which Line a train is coming. Drivers are instructed, on operating at a junction, by any of the lines branching therefrom, to give the same number of whistles they are instructed to do, when approaching the Junction in a contrary direction, and wishing to be turned on that Line.
The Junction Pointsmen have instructions not to lower their semaphores for approaching Trains until the necessary signal has been given, by a Driver, and to report every Train that is stopped in accordance with such instructions.
These Regulations come into operation on 1st May 1856." [ii]

Main Themes and Motifs

• The Driver as hero
• The driver as incompetent and reckless
• The driver's responsibility for the welfare of passengers

Minor Themes and Motifs

• The technical qualities of the locomotive.

Individual Songs (In approximate chronological order)

Bar224 Llanidloes and Newtown Railway (1859) Was written by navvy and sold by him at the opening ceremony. The accomapnaying notes provide a detailed description of the ceremony.

Synopsis:
The narrator anticipates the opening of the railways despite fears that the fiannce would not be availbe to complte it. He goes on to describe the trains and mentions the driver and stoker. He describes the opening ceremony and the navvies' part in it.

Bar491~Young Man on the Railway (1865) A Music Hall song that was also printed as a broadside. The cover of the sheet music suggests that the song was performed "in drag"

Synopsis:
The female narrator is heartbroken over a mail train driver. She is impressed by his muscularity and his uniform. He says he will marry her but sends her a letter to say that he is already married.

Bar201~Johnny the Engine Driver (1867) A Music Hall song

Synopsis:
A young lady sings the praises of her locomotive driver lover and looks forward to their marriage. She goes to the platform and watches him leave and worries that he will be involved in an accident.

Bar097~Driver of the Train (1880) A parlour ballad. One of the Musical Bouquet series. Dedicated to the Chairman of the Great Western Railway.

Synopsis:
The narrator praises the heroism of sailors and soldiers and says that the train diver is a modern hero who never deserts his post. The listener is abjured to consider how much his safety depends on the Driver

Bar033~Blinky is Driving Tonight (c1885) A nonsense monologue. The form is that in which the performer addresses the audience as if in conversation and solicits drink in return for telling a yarn.

Synopsis:
Blinky tells a story about driving a train from Belfast to Dover. He loses his way in the fog, the trains goes off the line and runs across country eventually the train arrives at Crewe and the passengers leave in disgust.

Bar465~I Stand and Watch the Trains Go Past (c1888) Verses from a poem written by a women in support of drivers and others, selected by the editor of the Railway Review (The journal of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants)

Synopsis:
The passing trains prompt the poet to consider the hardships faced by divers and others in the course of their work. She also considers their responsibility for the safety of passengers and the anxieties felt by the families of railwaymen. She concludes by abjuring travellers to think of the railwaymen and their work.

Bar369~Rival Steeds (1889) A poem printed in the Railway Review (The journal of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants)

Synopsis:
The poet assumes the voice of a locomotive driver to contrast the speed and stamina of his locomotive with the relative slowness and weakness of a horse owned by an imaginary rival.

Bar108~Engine Driver's Story; A Thrilling Incident (1913) A comical tall story. One of a series of "Musical Monologue"s

Synopsis:
An engine driver tells the story of the night when he was working as a fireman for a driver who went mad. On seeing a child on the lie ahead, the hero wrests control of the engine from the driver and in so doing pushes the driver into the firebox and closes the door. The hero applies the brakes and the child is saved. As a reward the hero is given the diver's job.

Bar253~Moses of the Mail 1887-1954 Compiled by Ewan McColl from fragments collected at the loco sheds at Newton Heath, Manchester.

Synopsis:
Moses drives the train wildly in bad weather and the train is derailed.

References

[I] Hobsbawn, Eric. Labouring Men: Studies in the History of Labour (London, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1964) p280
[ii] Evans A.K.B. and Gough J.V. (Eds) The Impact of Railways on Society in Britain Essays in Honour of Jack Simmons
(Ashgate, 2003) p.