People, Pride and Progress

This initiative is funded and made possible thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the players of the National Lottery, ASLEF LGBTQIA+ Network and the Friends of the National Railway Museum.

Aims and objectives

The project has been instigated by, carried out and guided by members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Coordinated by Ashlynn Welburn (she/her), Archivist at the National Railway Museum, the team are looking for older and retired members of the community, those who worked under British Rail and in early privatisation, to have a chat about the past and tell what it was really like to work in rail in those days.

Without continuity of culture passed down via families and with a scarcity of personal records, knowledge about the culture and the community's past is often hidden from younger members of the community. Much of the community's history, what day-to-day life was like, is preserved now only in the memories of those who lived it. 

The project offers the opportunity for community members to share their stories in one-on-one sessions with others who've experienced rail in different periods. To chat about the past and share stories of the industry. These chats will be recorded to form a new oral history (audio only) collection that will be preserved in the National Railway Museum archive.

To ensure the privacy and safety of individuals who participate, optional closure periods on the records lasting up to 100 years and/or anonymity is being offered to all participants.