{"id":60499,"date":"2025-10-16T18:00:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=60499"},"modified":"2025-10-15T19:13:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T18:13:06","slug":"new-tram-book-coming-soon-as-former-tram-conductor-in-leeds-details-his-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=60499","title":{"rendered":"New tram book coming soon as former tram conductor in Leeds details his experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chris Thornburn has been passionate about preserving tramway heritage for the best part of 70 years. In his tenth decade, he has written what appears to be a unique and irreplaceable contribution to British tramway literature \u2013 his forthcoming book “On Top o’ t’ Job”<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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British transport literature is rich in tramway histories, but authentic first-person operational accounts by tram workers are rare.\u00a0 As far as Chris knows, only four books have been written by the platform staff who actually operated Britain\u2019s tramway systems:\u00a0 Stan Collins\u2019 classic London memoir \u201cThe Wheels Used to Talk to Us\u201d;\u00a0 \u201cClippie\u201d, the autobiography of WW2 Sheffield conductress Zelma Katin;\u00a0 \u201cBare Empty Sheds\u201d by Gil Gilmartin, conductor and driver on London Transport 1947-52 and William Tollan\u2019s student-conductor Glasgow reminiscences of the early\u201950s, \u201cThe Wearing of the Green\u201d.<\/p>\n

This scarcity makes the preservation of such experiences not just valuable, but historically critical.<\/p>\n

About the Author and Historical Context<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the summer vacation periods of 1955, 1956, and 1957, Chris worked as a student conductor on the Leeds City Transport tram system.\u00a0 What makes this experience historically significant is that he witnessed the inexorable decline and rundown of the Leeds trams during the middle three years of their abandonment, which ended at the final closure, November 7th<\/sup>, 1959, when he bade farewell to several of his former colleagues.<\/p>\n

This book is a comprehensive development of his experiences.\u00a0 Its focus is the crew who operated the trams, not merely what they did, but how it was done. Running to 208 pages with a full index, it represents the only detailed first-person account of working as a conductor during the closure period of a British provincial tramway system.<\/p>\n

The Unique Historical Value of “On Top o’ t’ Job”<\/strong><\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t merely holiday employment; it was bearing witness to the end of an era.\u00a0 Chris learned the job from experienced drivers and conductors who had dedicated their working lives to the trams, absorbing not just technical procedures but the culture, traditions, and human drama of a transport system facing extinction.\u00a0 The knowledge and perspective he gained cannot be replicated \u2013 the experience no longer exists, no new accounts can be written.\u00a0 There are not many of people like Chris left now who have direct experience of working on first-generation tramways, and they are getting fewer.<\/p>\n

Comprehensive Coverage of Tramway Operations<\/strong><\/p>\n

The book extensively details the training, “Patterns of Work”, and covers the various facets of the job on the road, including:<\/p>\n