The first railway chemical laboratory was opened in 1864 by the London & North Western Railway at Crewe, and the last ones lost their direct link to the rail industry when it was privatised in 1996. Whatever their expertise, every railway chemist or ‘stink’ has been asked the same question: “What do you actually do?”
In this episode, stinkers David Smith, Ian McEwean, John Sheldon and Ian Cotter recount some the invaluable work of Railway Chemists across the network.