The vest that John wears in the beginning (with the meter) and end (their last job), is actually a British Rail safety vest, over his Gilchrist coat (when he moves you can see the gray on it). He has the combination on before the company is renamed Gilchrist Engineering.
In the opening scene, the locomotive pulling the freight train is a British Rail Class 25/Sulzer Type 2, which was withdrawn from mainline service in 1987, whereas this film is set in 1995.