Amanda Kenny

Said the following about Les Blake:

“Leslie Eric Blake - 54 Years Dedicated to the Rail Industry

• Born 1st September 1942, Les joined British Railways 1962 in the Freight Terminal at Aintree, Liverpool.

• In 1964 he moved from his position marshalling sets around the yard to become an Overhead Lineman.

• Between 1964 and 1972 Les worked through the grades as trainee to Senior Lineman at the Wigan Depot and was involved in the construction of the earliest types of UK 25kv Overhead Line systems.

• In 1972 he was promoted to Overhead Line Supervisor, a position he would undertake for 26 years.

• Les was responsible for the day to day management of Wigan Overhead Line Depot covering Maintenance, Renewals, Remodelling, Rapid Response and Incident Support.

• Les was a key member of the team developing recovery plans for major incidents.

• His expertise was frequently called upon to lead national efforts to improve staff capability. A passion for which still exists today.

• He developed a passion for identifying new working methods and development of new plant and equipment to improve safety and efficiency.

• In 1998 Les moved to the West Coast Route Modernisation leading a special projects team to deliver the complex OLE construction aspects associated with the West Coast upgrade.

• He was a lead member of the team developing new road rail plant and the high output wiring train.

• In 2007 and at the age of 65, Les moved to Keltbray Aspire as the Overhead Line Consultant – a role in which he continues today.

• During his time at Keltbray, Les has continued with unwavering dedication to promote and teach safe and efficient working practices, playing a key role in the development of Apprentices and Junior Linemen as well as offering constant support to the more experienced members of the team.

• During his time with Keltbray, Les has also been sought after to offer his experience and expertise internationally.

• Les is in his 70s is showing no signs of slowing down!

• His expertise is called upon all over the world; most recently to support projects in Australia, in 2014 Les flew out to support the Passenger Transport Authority in Perth helping to develop maintenance and rapid response procedures - not bad at the age of 72.

• His drive to develop even more sophisticated machines for the industry resulted with him coming up with the concept of a road rail full tensioning wiring unit.

• Working with Aspire, SRS and Zeck, Les successfully brought the unit to the industry.

• The unit has been named “The Les Blake LB54” in honour of this great achievement and to recognise the amount of years dedicated to the Rail Industry.

• Les is the father of a number of new inventions at Keltbray and elsewhere, the wiring unit being a classic example.

• He has been involved in one way or another with the development of all the major railways in the UK and beyond.

• After losing his grandson Ben at the young age of 18 in 2011 whilst competing in the British Superbikes Championship at Cadwell Park, who also worked for Keltbray, Les helped set up a charity in his memory ‘The Benjamin Gautrey Foundation’ working tirelessly to raise funds to help young people achieve their goals from grass root level promoting the sports in which Ben was so passionate about. Shortly after losing Ben, Les' beloved wife Carol passed away and being the man he is, Les carried on working throughout his heartbreak.

Leslie Eric Blake - 54 Years Dedicated to the Rail Industry“