Railway jobs - Tweedmouth 1921 census

[swt_passenger]

One of my distant relatives, a Robert Stark, was a retired NER employee (ex assistant loco shed foreman) in Tweedmouth in 1921. These details from the 1921 census. His 64 yr old wife and 2 adult children were still employed by the NER, she was a ‘hostel attendant’, one son was a general labourer, and the other son was a ‘caller up’.

Would it be usual at that time for a railway such as the NER to provide on site or nearby hostel accommodation for single staff, or would this be a facility for staff from elsewhere on lodging turns?

A simpler second question, what was a ‘caller up’? Is the answer as obvious as it seems?

 

[Gloster]

In 1921 it would still be the North Eastern Railway, or just possibly the North British Railway, not the LNER. The hostel was most likely for traincrew from other dépôts lodging, not necessarily overnight, before working back to their Home Depot. A caller up was usually someone who went round at night waking up traincrew who had middle of the night or early morning starts. (Although there might be another meaning for the words.)

 

[swt_passenger]

In 1921 it would still be the North Eastern Railway, or just possibly the North British Railway, not the LNER. The hostel was most likely for traincrew from other dépôts lodging, not necessarily overnight, before working back to their Home Depot. A caller up was usually someone who went round at night waking up traincrew who had middle of the night or early morning starts. (Although there might be another meaning for the words.)

Yes you’re right it is definitely NER, my mistake I’ll fix it. Written out in full in 6 places on the census form too…

 

[6Gman]

The railway hostels (often called "barracks" by the staff) were mainly for staff on lodging turns. They were also used by staff transferring in until such time as they could find their own accommodation. (My father spent a few months living at the Crewe "barracks" on his transfer from 6G until the house purchase went through and we came to join him)

Incidentally the Crewe barracks are now the local YMCA on Gresty Road - if you're walking down Gresty Road to the DRS depot or to scan Basford Hall look at the barracks and marvel at its size!

 

[Taunton]

The "Caller-up" ("Call Boy"; "Knocker-up") was really the first stage in railway employment, before you were even a loco cleaner, and was the general dogsbody for the loco shed. In those times signing-on times could vary and fluctuate, nobody had telephones of course (even in the 1960s the shed foreman [shedmaster] at Taunton, like the stationmaster, got an extra payment on their salary to be 'on the phone' at home), and some couldn't even afford alarm clocks. Everyone lived very locally, but you needed someone to go round the houses and announce changed signing on times, call out extra crews, etc. If they were lucky they got the use of a railway bicycle ...

They also had to be good at making the foreman's tea.