From Clerk to Controller: A Life on the Railways 1957–1996

‘Like so many other boys of my generation, I wanted to be an engine driver; my dreams, however, were dashed in 1956 when I went for a medical at Derby. So much depended upon having perfect eyesight ...’ So wrote the author in his introduction in Last Days of Steam on the LMS & BR, published in 2009. Now featuring all new color photographs, From Clark to Contoller is an account of Roderick H. Fowkes’ service on the railway, from 1966 until his retirement in 1996.

Reflecting on the demise of steam in the 1960s, and revisiting the author’s experiences in Trent in 1957, the compelling story continues with ‘some of the best times of a thirty-nine year career with BR’, including Fowkes’ years working in Control and the fulfilment of his lifetime ambition of moving to the West Country.

Filled with personal and memorable anecdotes, this book continues the extraordinary tale of the thirty-nine year British Railways career of a man deemed unsuitable for the foot plate grade in 1957.