British Rail: A New History

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The beautiful, if flaky, diesel hydraulic Western class aren't even named - they get lumped in with a general criticism of the Western Region's attempt to do it their way.

Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Republic of Croatia, Republic of the Congo, Reunion, Romania, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Venezuela, Virgin Islands (U. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. From the mid-1950s up to privatisation, BR failed to make a profit, notwithstanding a series of cost-cutting expedients. This isn’t as detailed as an academic referenced text would be, so train geeks may feel the lack of detail, but on the other hand it is accessible to a wide audience.Wolmar holds up some hope for the planned formation of Great British Railways, an oversight body taking in most of Britain's railways - but since the book was written, that too seems to be suffering from government mishandling. Certainly not the one engineered by George Stephenson as one of the first was that laid down at Wollaton, near Nottingham, open by 1610, long before Stephenson's birth in 1781. Having some awareness of UK history and politics alongside a hint of business acumen is a major benefit when reading through. And, of course, the story ends with the disastrous privatisation, just when BR was getting its act together, that has resulted in far more public subsidy than was previously the case - plus terrible services in some areas.

It is always tendentious and risky to speak of golden ages, but the last decade of British Rail was undoubtedly its finest period and an example of a successful state enterprise. The Author provides a very readable history as to how British Rail got to this position after having struggled through nearly 40+ turbulent years of fighting against cuts to the system.As he reveals, BR managed to overcome organisational confusion and political sabotage to become a remarkably forward-looking and efficient network before its breakup in 1997. The bottom line, or cost, was always foremost, with railway managers under constant pressure to make savings while starved of the investment they required to make the improvements necessary to turn the system around.

With Britain stuck in a seemingly inexorable loop of lockdowns, there was a notion that trains and all who live by them were for the breaker’s yard.

The second half of the book demonstrates that the newly branded “British Rail” had a renewed outlook on its public service duties.

Peter Parker, its chairman from 1976 to 1983, could be found doing voiceovers for BR advertisements, dressing up in drivers’ uniform for photoshoots and presenting himself for interview on national television. Despite an obvious flair for the social history railway, Wolmar sticks closely to his main subject, the operational structure of the organisation which existed between 1948 and 1994, British Railways. Nationalisation came at a time when the system was on its knees, the former owners wanted compensation, and the concept of railways was under serious challenge from the roads lobby. At the same time Wolmar notes that even with nationalisation the privatisation era fiefdoms of individual area managers were allowed to live on which hobbled many attempts at reform. Some of the best parts of his book come in the sidelights, as when he describes the special trains laid on for hop pickers (along with the unfortunate consequences), or when he explains the use of slip coaches – carriages detached from a rake at speed and allowed to drift into a station under their own momentum, letting the rest of the train proceed without stopping.This is a very readable history of a much loved and maligned organisation which was, and to a degree still is, deeply entwined with the lives and culture of Britain.