West Somerset teenage ‘tracker’ becomes new general manager
WEST Somerset Railway (WSR) volunteer Justin Kerr-peterson has been appointed as the new general manager of the heritage line.
Taunton railwayman Justin, 36, has worked for Great Western Railway as senior possession strategy manager at Swindon, coordinating important track repair works since 2017, and previously as a senior manager for Network Rail (NR) from 2013.
Since 1998 he has also had a 22year parallel heritage railway career, joining the West Somerset’s youth organisation as a keen teenage ‘tracker’.
Experienced hand
He then rose through the WSR ranks to become a travelling ticket inspector when still at school; becoming a guard while studying archaeology at Southampton University; joining the line’s commercial department full-time and also acting as assistant to the general manager; before becoming deputy operating superintendent, prior to moving to the‘big railway’seven years ago.
Justin was selected out of 22 applicants for the job, filling the void left by the departure of general manager Paul Conibeare last year. Detailed interviews and aptitude tests were then held in January by the WSR plc board – along with representatives of the West Somerset Steam Railway Trust and the WSR Association – for the five short-listed candidates before the final appointment was made and confirmed.
His appointment again underlines the opportunities and potential for young volunteers in the heritage railway sector.
WSR plc chairman Jonathan Jonespratt said: “We’re pleased to announce some excellent news about our new general manager appointment and we welcome Justin back to the WSR team as one of our own home-grown talent. The board and I are sure he will show the strength, expertise, knowledge, values and commitment to the WSR that are required to take us forward for the next part of our railway journey together.
Attributes
“Justin proved himself more than capable through our tough interview process and, while challenged by some other excellent applicants, the board of directors and key stakeholders all felt strongly that we had the right candidate in front of us. Clearly Justin has the relevant railway experience and competence to operate as a professional general manager, and these attributes supported our decision. Personally, I am looking forward to working with him closely, and I know our staff are also very pleased that we have appointed ‘one of our own’too. This is another key milestone for the WSR as we rebuild our wonderful railway, and I’m sure that our‘wizzer’will now be in safe hands as we hand over the day-to-day custody to him.”
Justin said: “I’m thrilled and proud to be rejoining the WSR ‘family’ fulltime. The WSR holds a very special place in my heart, having first started volunteering back in 1998 as one of the first members of the Trackers Youth Group.
“Working for both NR and Great Western Railway has also given me a much wider appreciation of railways as a whole and the importance of having clear goals and how to achieve them. I’m looking forward to continuing the work of not only strengthening and rebuilding the line’s family using my knowledge and skills, but also re-establishing the WSR’S position in the premier league of UK heritage railways.”