Interview about use of the railway from Bletchley for travel to school, work and leisure from the 1940s to date.

Mrs Dodds reminisces about travel to Wolverton Grammar School from Bletchley, and the other school trains which also arrived there, such as the ‘Buster’ from Newport Pagnell. Mr Dodds recalls travel to Wolverton for night school, and the possibility of peasouper fogs delaying the train. They remember characters on the railways staff including Don Hollis, signalman, who had a large collection of records and would run dances. Mr Dodds talks of the changes to the railway in Bletchley when the Steam Depot closed in 1966, and effects on the staff of training to move into the electric and diesel era; in his opinion they should be given full credit for all their efforts. He considers that all the changes around this time: electrification, introduction of inter-city services, etc. were a great achievement. They talk of their personal use of the railway for shopping, theatre trips, etc. Mr Dodds comments that the emphasis on use of the railways has now completely changed, with commuting the priority. Talking of the Oxford branch line, he recalls it was heavily used for the ‘stone trains’ carrying aggregates as Milton Keynes began to develop. In his opinion, this usage justified keeping the line open.