Rails to Nowhere

Join Simon and Ela for the second in our mini series of episodes looking at British Railways relationship with inovation. In this episode we move on into the swinging sixties, explore the APT and HST and discuse less talked about improvements such as AWS and TOPS.

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/railstonowhere

Simon on Twitter: www.twitter.com/reddragontweets 

Thanks to our wonderful Patreons who help make Rails to Nowhere happen and especial thanks to our £10 patreon ValkyrieLeamons.

Music: ‘Koala’ David Cutter Music - www.davidcuttermusic.com

For those who wish to view on youtube the video can be found here https://youtu.be/VZ-hLSc8ir0

Bibliography

Research for this episode was carried out using a number of sources including parts of the National Railway Museum library collection and the national archive. Below are the principle texts used to research this episode.

125 Group. 125 An Enduring Icon. Stroud: Amberley, 2018.

125 Group. Inter-City 125: High Speed Train (1972 Onwards - All Models). Yeovil: Haynes Publishing, 2019.

Bagwell, Philip, and Peter Lyth. Transport in Britain 1750 - 2000: From Canal Lock to Gridlock. London: Hambledon & London, 2002.

Barnett, Roger. British Rail’s InterCity 125 and 225. Berkley, 1992.

Clough, David. APT: The Untold Story. Addlestone: Ian Allan, 2016.

Clough, David. The Modernisation Plan: British Railway’s Blueprint for the Future. Hersham: Ian Allan, 2014.

Divall, Colin, and Hiroki Shin. ‘Engineers v. Industrial Designers: The Struggle for Professional Control over the British Rail Mark 2 Coach, c. 1955-1966’. The Journal of Transport History 39, no. 2 (2018): 145–69.

Gilchrist, Alastair. A History of Engineering Research on British Railways. Working Papers in Railway Studies. York, 2006.

Gourvish, Terence. British Railways 1948-73: A Business History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Green, Chris, and Mike Vincent. The Intercity Story: 1964-2012. Hersham: Oxford Publishing Co, 2013.

Jackson, Tanya. British Rail: The Nations Railway. Stroud: The History Press, 2014.

Kichenside, Geoffrey, and Alan Williams. Two Centuries of Railway Signalling. 2nd ed. Addlestone: Oxford Publishing Co, 2016.

Loft, Charles. Government, the Railways and the Modernization of Britain: Beeching’s Last Trains. Abingdon: Routledge, 2006.

Marr, Andrew. A History of Modern Britain. London: Macmillan, 2007.

Middleton, William, Rick Morgan, and Roberta Diehl, eds. Encyclopaedia of North American Railroads. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007.

Nock, Oswald. Two Miles A Minute: The Story Behind the Conception and Operation of Britain’s High Speed and Advanced Passenger Trains. Cambridge: Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1980.

Poole, Stephen. Inside British Rail: Challenges and Progress on the Nationalised Railway 1970s-1990s. Stroud: The History Press, 2018.

Potter, Stephen. ‘Cutting-Edge Technology’. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management 1, no. 1 (1989): 99–122.

Potter, Stephen. On the Right Lines? The Limits of Technological Innovation. New York: St Martin’s Press, 1987.

Pyrgidis, Christos. Railway Transportation Systems: Design, Construction and Operation. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2016.

Rothwell, R, and P Gardiner. ‘Invention, Innovation, Re-Innovation and the Role of the User: A Case Study of British Hovercraft Development’. Technovation 3 (1985): 167–86.

Simmons, Jack, and Gordon Biddle, eds. The Oxford Companion to British Railway History: From 1603 to The 1990s. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Join Simon and Ela for the first in a mini series of episodes looking at British Railways relationship with inovation. In this first episode we look a bit at the pre BR era, the Modernisation Plan, the work BR carried out in the early 1950 and the start of the swinging sixties.

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/railstonowhere

Simon on Twitter: www.twitter.com/reddragontweets 

Thanks to our wonderful Patreons who help make Rails to Nowhere happen and especial thanks to our £10 patreon ValkyrieLeamons.

Music: ‘Koala’ David Cutter Music - www.davidcuttermusic.com

For more on OLE check out Gary Keenor’s excellent book at ocs4rail.com

Research for this episode was carried out using a number of sources including parts of the National Railway Museum library collection and the national archive. Below are the principle texts used to research this episode.

Bagwell, Philip, and Peter Lyth. Transport in Britain 1750 - 2000: From Canal Lock to Gridlock. London: Hambledon & London, 2002.

Bradley, Rodger. ‘British Railways: The 1948 Interchange Trials’. Railway Matters: On Track, n.d. Accessed https://railwaymatters.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/the-1948-interchange-trials_v2.pdf.

British Transport Commission. Modernisation and Re-equipment of British Railways. London, 1955.

Clough, David. The Modernisation Plan: British Railway’s Blueprint for the Future. Hersham: Ian Allan, 2014.

Gourvish, Terence. British Railways 1948-73: A Business History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Jackson, Tanya. British Rail: The Nations Railway. Stroud: The History Press, 2014.

Kichenside, Geoffrey, and Alan Williams. Two Centuries of Railway Signalling. 2nd ed. Addlestone: Oxford Publishing Co, 2016.

Loft, Charles. Government, the Railways and the Modernization of Britain: Beeching’s Last Trains. Abingdon: Routledge, 2006.

Marr, Andrew. A History of Modern Britain. London: Macmillan, 2007.

Her Majesties Government. ‘Railway Act 1921’ (1921).

Her Majesties Government. ‘Transport Act 1947’ (1947).

British Transport Commission. Modernisation and Re-equipment of British Railways. London, 1954.

British Transport Commission.  Modernisation of British Railways: The System of Electrification for British Railways. London, 1956.

British Transport Commission.  Re-appraisal of the Plan or the Modernisation and Re-equipment of British Railways. London, 1959.

A special note of thanks to www.railwaysarchive.co.uk for their wonderful work in digitising the documents referenced in this episode.

Welcome to the first bonus episode of Rails to Nowhere where Simon and Ela are discusing the man behind the Railway Act 1921. Ordinarly a Patreon only feature this months bonus episode is coming to the public feed as well to give you a taste of what you can get as a thank you for joining our patreon.

Support our Patreon for bonus episodes, behind the scenes content and more: www.patreon.com/railstonowhere

Music: ‘Koala’ David Cutter Music - www.davidcuttermusic.com

Research for this episode was carried out using a number of sources including parts of the National Railway Museum library collection. Below are the principle texts used to research this episode.

Bibliography

Acworth, W. M. 1920. Historical Sketch of State Railway Ownership. London: John Murry.

Bagwell, Philip, and Peter Lyth. 2002. Transport in Britain 1750-2000: From Canal Lock to Gridlock. London: Hambledon & London.

Barker, Theo, and Dorian Gerhold. 1993. The Rise and Rise of Road Transport, 1700-1990. London: Studies in Economic and Social History.

Bonavia, M. R., and T. C. Barker. 1978. Railway Policy Between the Wars. London: City of London Polytechnic.

Cline, Peter K. 1974. “Eric Geddes and the 'Experiment' with Businessmen in Government, 1915-1922.” In Essays in Anti-Labour History: Responses to the Rise of Labour in Britain, edited by Kenneth D. Brown, 74-104. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Emil Davies, A. 1908. The Nationalization of Railways. London: Adam and Charles Black.

Grieves, Keith. 1989. Sir Eric Geddes: Business and Government in War and Peace. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Hylton, Stuart. 2016. What the Railways did for us. Stroud: Amberley.

Phillips, Christopher. Civilian Specialists at War: Britain's Transport Experts and the First World War. London, University of London Press, 2020.

Robbins, Michael. 1998. The Railway Age. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Webb, Simon. 2016. Commutters: The History of a British Way of Life. Barnsley: Pen & Sword.

In this episode of Rails to Nowhere, join Simon and Ela as they take a deep dive into the Railway Act 1921, the context around it and the potential learning points we can take away and apply to the modern age.

Support our Patreon for bonus episodes, behind the scenes content and more: www.patreon.com/railstonowhere

Music: ‘Koala’ David Cutter Music - www.davidcuttermusic.com

Research for this episode was carried out using a number of sources including parts of the National Railway Museum library collection. Below are the principle texts used to research this episode.

Bibliography

Acworth, W. M. 1920. Historical Sketch of State Railway Ownership. London: John Murry.

Bagwell, Philip, and Peter Lyth. 2002. Transport in Britain 1750-2000: From Canal Lock to Gridlock. London: Hambledon & London.

Barker, Theo, and Dorian Gerhold. 1993. The Rise and Rise of Road Transport, 1700-1990. London: Studies in Economic and Social History.

Cline, Peter K. 1974. “Eric Geddes and the 'Experiment' with Businessmen in Government, 1915-1922.” In Essays in Anti-Labour History: Responses to the Rise of Labour in Britain, edited by Kenneth D. Brown, 74-104. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Emil Davies, A. 1908. The Nationalization of Railways. London: Adam and Charles Black.

Grieves, Keith. 1989. Sir Eric Geddes: Business and Government in War and Peace. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Hylton, Stuart. 2016. What the Railways did for us. Stroud: Amberley.

Phillips, Christopher. Civilian Specialists at War: Britain's Transport Experts and the First World War. London, University of London Press, 2020.

Robbins, Michael. 1998. The Railway Age. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Webb, Simon. 2016. Commutters: The History of a British Way of Life. Barnsley: Pen & Sword.