10 MINUTES 10 QUESTIONS
This month, Steven Knight has a longer chat with the National Railway Museum’s Andrew McLean.
ANDREW McLean was born in Edinburgh and educated at the city’s Portobello High School. He studied history at the University of Edinburgh and Herriot Watt University, and later gained a postgraduate diploma in Archive Administration at the Society of Archivists.
Having worked as archivist at both United Distilleries and the Royal Bank of Scotland, he became head of collections at the Mount Stuart Trust on the Isle of Bute, later becoming curator covering several high-profile National Trust locations and properties, including George Stephenson’s birthplace.
Andrew joined the National Railway Museum in June 2014 as head curator, being promoted in July 2017 to assistant director and head curator. His book, The Flying Scotsman: Speed, Style, Service was published in 2016. He sits on the Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board and the Institute of Railway Studies forum, and is a former member of the Heritage Railway Association’s Heritage Committee. He has a life-long interest in railways.
Q. What was your first-ever job?
It was working in a champagne and seafood tent at the Open golf championship at Muirfield in 1987. I recall serving champagne to a few well known faces, including the newsreader Sandy Gall and the cricketer Ian Botham. My first full-time role was with United Distillers (now Diageo), working on the heritage collections of some of the world’s biggest drink brands – including Johnnie Walker and Gordon’s Gin. Quite a few railway connections in those collections – railways were important in helping develop national and then global brands.