Geoff Burch
Author of the
Rambling Railwayman
Book Series
Author of the
Rambling Railwayman
Book Series
Geoff was born in Guildford on 5th March 1946 and was educated at Worplesdon Primary School and Northmead Secondary School for Boys. Starting work at the tender age of 15 as an Engine Cleaner at Guildford Motive Power Depot on the 4th April 1961, he graduated to become a Fireman on the 9th April 1962.
During his career as a Fireman from 1962 - 1967, he was fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to fire to a diverse variety of drivers and Southern steam locomotives ranging from Drummond M7 tank engines to Oliver Bulleid’s Merchant Navy Class Pacifics. He was also a fireman on one of the last locomotives to leave Guildford Motive Power Depot when it closed on Sunday 9th July 1967.
The following day, he transferred to Woking Mixed Traction Depot as a Secondman and after successfully passing the Driver’s Rules, EMUT and Diesel Locomotive Traction Driving examinations in 1969, he remained at Woking as a Passed Secondman. However, in order to progress to Driver status, he applied for a Driver vacancy at Effingham Junction and moved there on 11th December 1972.
Utilising an 8b move, he then moved back to Woking as a Driver in January 1974 and attended the TrainingSchool at Waterloo for a Class 47 course. He remained at Woking Mixed Traction Depot until 1987 until he was selected to become an Acting Instructor at Waterloo Operations Training Centre, making this a permanent position in October 1988.
In August 1989, he was promoted to Senior Instructor (Mixed Traction) and held that post until 1994.
On the advice of the Adam Smith Institute, under John Major’s Conservative government’s Railways Act 1993, British Rail (BR) was split up and privatised so he decided to take voluntary severance after a railway career spanning 33 years.
His next career was with Surrey Police working in their new Computer Based Training Department and in the following 11 years held the posts of Training Officer, Computer Trainer, Communications Trainer, Assessor / Evaluator, Quality Officer, Data Manager, and finally, Business Development Analyst.
Geoff still kept in contact with his railway colleagues and in 2004, he was ‘persuaded’ to re-join the Railway Industry as an Operations Trainer at the South West Trains Operations Training Centre at Basingstoke.
The following year he took on the role of Assistant Operations & Safety Training Manager and then in 2008, was appointed as their Training Design Manager finishing his railway career in February 2009.
Following his retirement, apart from writing and self-publishing four books about his career within the railway industry and producing two double-DVDs featuring the late Dave Salmon’s photograph collection, he also presents illustrated talks on railway and other local history subjects.
