The Railway Grouping 1923 to the Beeching Era
The Railway Grouping 1923 to the Beeching Era

Author: Bob Pixton

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2024-04-30

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1399088319

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When King George V ascended to the throne in 1910, world trade was increasing and at home the country’s private enterprise railways were booming with larger trains and more freight being carried than ever before. Over the next fifty years the country had experienced not one, but two world wars. Railways had been forcefully reorganized, not once but twice, eventually becoming state owned. With the Government now in control of the railway’s finances, reformation was on the horizon in the medicine of Dr. Beeching. This volume sets out to chart the passage of the railways during these turbulent times. Contrary to popular belief, life on the railways during these times was not all doom and gloom but times of innovation, competition, new buildings, new lines and the spread of electrification. This was the era of faster, larger, non-stop expresses, streamlined trains: we even showcased our best trains abroad, not once but twice! More and more people were taking holidays by trains and holiday camps emerged. Challenging the position of steam engines were new diesel locomotives. The Festival of Britain (1951) and the Coronation of Elizabeth (1953) saw the country emerge from the devastation and crippling debt after World War 2. On the horizon were devastating rivals that wounded the previously unassailable position of steam trains: motor lorries and family cars. With looming unsustainable finances, the Government solicited external help to help sort out matters.

The Railway Grouping 1923 to the Beeching Era
The Railway Grouping 1923 to the Beeching Era

Author: Bob Pixton

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2024-04-30

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 1399088297

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When King George V ascended to the throne in 1910, world trade was increasing and at home the country’s private enterprise railways were booming with larger trains and more freight being carried than ever before. Over the next fifty years the country had experienced not one, but two world wars. Railways had been forcefully reorganized, not once but twice, eventually becoming state owned. With the Government now in control of the railway’s finances, reformation was on the horizon in the medicine of Dr. Beeching. This volume sets out to chart the passage of the railways during these turbulent times. Contrary to popular belief, life on the railways during these times was not all doom and gloom but times of innovation, competition, new buildings, new lines and the spread of electrification. This was the era of faster, larger, non-stop expresses, streamlined trains: we even showcased our best trains abroad, not once but twice! More and more people were taking holidays by trains and holiday camps emerged. Challenging the position of steam engines were new diesel locomotives. The Festival of Britain (1951) and the Coronation of Elizabeth (1953) saw the country emerge from the devastation and crippling debt after World War 2. On the horizon were devastating rivals that wounded the previously unassailable position of steam trains: motor lorries and family cars. With looming unsustainable finances, the Government solicited external help to help sort out matters.

The Railways of Bradford and Leeds
The Railways of Bradford and Leeds

Author: Peter Waller

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2023-12-30

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1526773457

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It was to the south-west of Leeds that one of the key lines in the development of Britain’s railway network – the Middleton Railway – established the principle of seeking parliamentary sanction for the construction of a new form of transport. Five decades later in the early nineteenth century it was again the Middleton Railway that was at the forefront of the use of steam – rather than animal – power to move coal from colliery to market. From the early 1830s through until the early years of the twentieth century the local railway network continued to expand; indeed, if it had not been for the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 the area would have played host to one of the last first-generation main lines to be constructed with the Midland Railway planning – and partially constructing – a new main line north from Royston. In the event the line was never completed, consigning Bradford to be served by no more than glorified branch lines. Providing a largely illustrated account to the history of the railway development of the area, the book includes a fascinating selection of illustrations that focus on the evolution of the network in the almost eighty years since the end of the Second World War.

British Railway Tickets
British Railway Tickets

Author: Jan Dobrzynski

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-01-20

Total Pages: 151

ISBN-13: 0747813140

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In 1838 Thomas Edmondson, an employee of the fledgling Newcastle & Carlisle Railway, revolutionised the ticket issuing process in Britain and left an enduring legacy: the Edmondson ticket. Purchased as proof of the contract between passenger and railway company, the ticket was a receipt, travel pass and an ephemeral record of almost every train journey ever taken in the British Isles, reflecting the nostalgia of the railways and a period of history when the movement of millions of people brought together England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The railways printed millions of tickets for every conceivable journey and category of passenger. Most were destroyed after use, but remarkably many survive, in the care of libraries, museums and collectors, and form the basis of a fascinating hobby.

On the Slow Train Again
On the Slow Train Again

Author: Michael Williams

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2011-04-07

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1409051242

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Michael Williams has spent the past year travelling along the fascinating rail byways of Britain for this new collection of journeys. Here is the 'train to the end of the world' running for more than four splendid hours through lake, loch and moorland from Inverness to Wick, the most northerly town in Britain. He discovers a perfect country branch line in London's commuterland, and travels on one of the slowest services in the land along the shores of the lovely Dovey estuary to the far west of Wales. He takes the stopping train across the Pennines on a line with so few services that its glorious scenery is a secret known only to the regulars. Here, too, is the Bittern Line in Norfolk and the Tarka Line in North Devon as well as the little branch line to the fishing port of Looe in Cornwall, rescued from closure in the 1960s and now celebrating its 150th anniversary taking families on holiday to the seaside. From the most luxurious and historic - aboard the Orient Express - to the most futuristic - on the driverless trains of London's Docklands Light Railway - here is a unique travel companion celebrating the treasures of our railway heritage from one of Britain's most knowledgeable railway writers.

The Oxford Companion to British Railway History from 1603 to the 1990s
The Oxford Companion to British Railway History from 1603 to the 1990s

Author: Jack Simmons

Publisher:

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 618

ISBN-13:

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This is the first encyclopedia to chart the progress of Britain's railway development. It begins with primitive 17th-century wagonways, fully considers the eras of horse, steam, diesel, and electric traction, and then charts the change from private to public ownership. Finally, it describes in detail the privatizations of the late 1990s. Over six hundred entries by eighty-eight expert contributors provide a comprehensive and unique reference to all aspects of railways.

Classic British Steam Locos
Classic British Steam Locos

Author: compiled from Wikipedia entries and published byby DrGoogelberg

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2012-06-11

Total Pages: 570

ISBN-13: 1291079734

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do you want to know everything on steam locos, how they work? Read about the technology and lots of steam locos like the flying Scotsman. Compiled from Wikipedia pages and published by dr Googelberg.

Ernest Marples
Ernest Marples

Author: David Brandon

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2022-01-12

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 1526760193

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This biography examines the life and career of the conservative politician who led the charge to reshape British Railways in the mid-twentieth century. Ernest Marples was one of the most influential and controversial British politicians of the mid-twentieth century. As the Minister of Transport (1959–1964) he appointed Dr. Beeching chairman of British Railways and commissioned him to produce his infamous “Beeching Report”. Earlier, as Postmaster General (1957–1959), he reformed Post Office accounting systems and launched postcodes and Subscriber Trunk Dialing. Though Marples evaded implicated in the Profumo Affair which rocked the Conservative Party, his political career was over soon afterwards. Questionable business practices, and a 1975 flight to Monaco, drew scrutiny from Inland Revenue. Beeching, unhappy under a Labour government, returned to private industry. This biography of Marples draws on newly-available archives to examine Marples’s career as well as public and private transport policy, the growing power of the pro-road lobby, and the successful campaign to identify personal freedom with driving.