What Can Railway Organisations Learn from Railway Cultural Traditions?

New South Wales' railway staff and supporting organisations changed extensively during the last twenty years involving attempts to create a new culture of work. This paper traces change in railway work culture from the 1920s to the present by analysing the various staff magazines to find indicators of what has been valued as 'the good employee' and so to trace change in perspective and definition. The 'good employee' over time is set out against current organisational and managerial cultures and the distinguishing characteristics, cultures and objectives of railway work. Rather than eschewing their past, railway organisations should use their past to interpret their present, and project their own worth to the national economy and society.