The men in the black macs

BD

My father worked on the railway all is life and worked himself up from a junior to finish in a supervisory level as station master. In the railway world, he came under the category of the 'men in the black macs'. This is a somewhat derogatory term but it was the men who new the rules and regulations and made the railways work. His black gaberdine mac was a godsend and he wore it with pride and joy when the weather was bad. He cringes at the de-casualisation of clothes on the railways under Richard Branson with their fleece jackets and polo shirts. When the weather is bad and passengers need advice, the men seem to hide away in mess rooms or stand under the awnings afraid to get wet. There are more women working on the railways today and they wear bright red macs.

My father's coat has more a less worn out and I am contacting you as to whether you can make him one. A friend showed me a copy of a brochure that you produce and the black gaberdine fabric does not appear. There are other fabrics like rubberised cotton, rubberised satin, shiny black rubber and various plastics. My father bought a black shiny pvc mac to wear and he enjoyed wearing it but the railways seem to frown on shiny plastic macs. I have worn raincoats in shiny plastic material and my father says that they look good on ladies but he is not sure about men. We never seem to see anyone wearing shiny plastic macs in the Midlands these days

My father is in his sixties and he would like to buy a replacement mac. Can you help him in any way or give us an alternative address for a company that still makes gaberdine macs?

With regard to the comments on shiny rainwear, these are personal views that may be of interest to other customers to comment on. In the new railway era, the clothing has been casualised, attempting to be more fashion conscious as promoted by Richard Branson . The women look smart in their red coats but it would be interesting to see if in inclement weather, they would ever produce a version in bright red shiny plastic material. The trouble is that passengers do not think that the women are railway staff and do not ask them for advice. The men now wear a somewhat drab looking coat that many seem uncomfortable in wearing. Whether we will ever see men and women again wearing black macs ( whether traditional gaberdine, black shiny plastic ones or shiny black rubberised cotton ones) is a matter for speculation.

BD

Hi BD

Your letter reaches me on the day the Dunwoody report is published damning all aspects of the West Coast Mainline modernisation project. The abandonment of the black mac seems all of a piece.

Symptom or cause would you say?

Very interesting letter - thank you.

We need some good quality black wool gaberdine then: I will look my hardest! When I find some we would love to make your father a new mac. I will put the price in very small print - it has shot up since the last one he bought (I'm guessing) by about as much as the price of revamping the line itself (which I see has multiplied by about nine).

Basic price of our bespoke gaberdine raincoat now £350