Ken Hoole (1916-1988) was a railway historian who made his name with over forty books and numerous magazine and newspaper articles. His lifelong concern was with the railways of northeastern England and in particular, the North Eastern Railway Company, upon which he became a recognized authority.
He was born in Doncaster, but spent most of his life on the Yorkshire coast. His railway interests were kindled during his schooldays when he travelled from the family home in Bridlington to school at Hull. The locomotives that he saw during his daily journeys by train fascinated him, and he made friends with their crews.
After leaving school Ken joined the Post Office as a telephone engineer and his knowledge led him into radio security work during World War II. On return to civilian life he developed his railway interests and eventually became a full-time author specializing in the railways of the northeast. In pursuit of this he had an extensive network of like-minded friends, both amongst railway enthusiasts and professional railway men.
His wide knowledge was gained as much from his researches in railway company archives, as from talking to people who ran the railways and had intimate knowledge of their working. In 1961 he was one of the founder members of the North Eastern Railway Association, which was formed to further interest in the railway history of the northeast.
Ken built up an extensive reference library of railway books, documents and plans, and a comprehensive collection of photographs covering all aspects of railway working from locomotives and rolling stock to stations, signaling and infrastructure.
These valuable records covering over 170 years of railway activity in north-east England are now housed in the Ken Hoole Study Centre at the Darlington Railway Museum and are available for all to study.