People, pride, and progress

The National Railway Museum’s Ashlynn Hudson-Welburn discusses a new project aimed at preserving the voices of rail’s LGBTQIA+ history.

LGBTQIA+ in rail: what's your story?

Members of the LGBTQIA+ railway family are looking for older and retired members of their community to discuss what it was like to work in rail in those days. So, if you worked under British Rail and in early privatisation, we want to hear from you.The team engaging in the project, which is supported by both RMT and ASLEF, want to learn about, better understand, and preserve knowledge of what it was like to be LGBTQIA+ in rail. The project enables you to share stories in one-on-one sessions with others who’ve experienced rail in different periods. These chats will be recorded to form a new oral history (audio only) collection that will be preserved in the National Railway Museum archive.To ensure the privacy and safety of participants, optional closure periods on the records lasting up to 100 years and/or anonymity is being offered to all contributors. Email Alison Kay to take part.

Pride in RSSB

‘On 29 June 2024 this year, a number of RSSB staff joined the annual Pride in London Parade, marking RSSB’s debut at the event.

Pride in London is the UK’s biggest LGBT+ Pride event, celebrating people of all genders, sexualities, and ethnicities. Some 500 groups took part, comprising a total of around 30,000 people, cheered on by thousands of LGBT+ supporters.

For some, Pride will always be a protest. For others, the event is a celebration, even a party. For many taking part, the event is both an opportunity to celebrate how far the LGBT+ community has come in reaching equality, but a reminder that there is still some way to go, and that the community is united in its intent to achieve this.

RSSB recognises the value of diversity in its workforce, as well as the importance of its people feeling valued and respected. As well as other LGBT+ social events through the year, we are all looking forward to returning to Pride in London in 2025.’

Lucy Powell, Assistant Strategy Manager, RSSB