Di Drummond describes the experience of living in railway towns during the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly focussing on Crewe between 1840-1914. The records of the Grand Junction and London and North Western Railway Companies, part of The National Archives collection at Kew, together with other collections at the Search Engine, National Railway Museum, York, allow a detailed and intriguing picture of how the changing labour processes of Crewe Works affected labour relations, trade unionism and the politics of the town.
Dr Di Drummond is Reader in Modern History at Leeds Trinity University. Di is possibly best known for her book, Crewe: Railway Town, Company and People, 1840-1914, Scolar Press, 1995, which was based on her PhD research conducted at Royal Holloway College, The University of London. Di also gives talks on ‘railway family history’ and has published Tracing Your Railway Ancestors: A Guide to Family Historians, Pen and Sword, Barnsley, 2010.