Inside British Rail

Author: Stephen Poole
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 075098709X
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 361

Book Description
Stephen Poole worked on three of British Rail's five geographical Regions and then for three of the BR business sectors, thereby experiencing a vast range of operational, business and management styles and issues. His experience included stations, depots, freight, parcels, yards, signalling, catering, major projects and business development. Being told in 1973 that his employment may not last long, he became an "outsider on the inside", dodging from post to post for 20 years and always being acutely aware of how it all related to the social, industrial, political and economic issues of the time. In this engaging book, he looks back on the BR years, with an awareness of how on-going arguments about privatization affect the issues.

See Inside Trains

Author: Emily Bone
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781409549932
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 16

Book Description
Trains hold a fascination for just about anybody, and this lift-the-flap history of locomotion tells it all, from Stephenson's Rocket to the bullet trains of today.

Greatest British Railway Journeys

Author: Michael Portillo
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781472279286
Category : Great Britain
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description

British Railway Disasters

Author: Robin Jones
Publisher: Mortons Books
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 269

Book Description
This is the story of how Britain’s railway disasters, horrific though they may be, change the network for the better through the crucial lessons that are learned. It starts with fatalities on early mining tramways before the dawn of the steam age and takes the story up to the present day. While many of Britain’s worst tragedies are covered in depth, such as Quintinshill in 1915 and Harrow & Wealdstone in 1952, the book also looks at others that had resounding consequences for safety.

25 Years of SSI

Author: Bob Barnard
Publisher: Anchor Books
ISBN: 9780905985589
Category : Railroads
Languages : en
Pages : 174

Book Description

British Rail 1974-1997

Author: Terence Richard Gourvish
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199269099
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 770

Book Description
Based on privileged access to the British Railway Board's rich archives, this book provides and authoritative account of the progress made by the British Railway System prior to its privatization. It offers a unique account of the last fifteen years of nationalized railways in Britain, and it sheds light on the current problems of privatized railway systems. This volume is divided into four complete and concise sections for complete study: 'Railways Under Labour (1974-1979)', 'The Thatcher Revolution (British Rail in the 1980's)', 'On The Threshold of Privatization: Running the Railways (1990-1994)', and 'Responding to Privatization (1981-1997)'. Author Terry Gourvish is considered Britain's leading railway historian.

British Rail

Author: Christian Wolmar
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241456215
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 261

Book Description
The authoritative and fascinating history of the rise and fall of the state-owned British Rail 'Wolmar's book is impeccably organised and makes a fast, enjoyable read' THE TIMES Literary Supplement________ British Rail wasn't how we're asked to remember it . . . From ancient rolling stock to patchy service, stale sandwiches to the wrong kind of snow, British Rail - our last great state-owned organisation to be privatised - has received a terrible press. But after its controversial 1948 creation, British Rail was actually an innovative powerhouse that over five decades transformed the UK, creating one of the fastest regular rail services in the world. Award-winning journalist Christian Wolmar takes us from promise to punchline, exploring British Rail's birth into post-war austerity, the many battles and struggles to evolve what many considered to be a dinosaur, and how, at the height of its success, the service was misunderstood and unfairly maligned, ruthlessly broken up and privatised._______ Praise for Christian Wolmar 'Wolmar is the high priest of railway studies' Literary Review 'The greatest expert on British trains' Guardian 'Our most eminent transport journalist' Spectator 'If the world's railways have a laureate, it is surely Christian Wolmar' Boston Globe 'Christian Wolmar is in love with the railways. He writes constantly and passionately about them. He is their wisest, most detailed historian and a constant prophet of their rebirth . . . if you love the hum of the wheels and of history, then Christian Wolmar is your man' Observer

The Royal Train

Author: Brian Hoey
Publisher: Haynes Manuals
ISBN: 9780857331328
Category : Locomotives
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
There is in fact no single Royal Train, but rather a set of rail vehicles that can be assembled into whatever configuration is required, depending on which member of the Royal Family is travelling. This title examines various aspects of the Royals' favourite form of transport, including the rolling stock, the locomotives, the costs, and more.

British Rail, 1948-83

Author: Brian Haresnape
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 198

Book Description

Losing Track: An Insider's Story of Britain's Railway Transformation from British Rail to the Present Day

Author: John Nelson
Publisher: New Generation Publishing
ISBN: 9781789556674
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Book Description
How Britain's railways are organised is the book's running theme. It is an account that will interest anyone wanting to understand how things could be run better. Written by John Nelson who was centrally involved in all of the controversial changes that took place over the last half century, it draws on his own public and private sector experience to provide evidence based opinion of what needs to be done now. Along the way he describes what the post Beeching railway was like to work in; the internal battles that raged during the commercialisation of BR in the 1980s; the ideological privatisation process of the 1990s and how it nearly came unstuck; how the first franchises were awarded and the motivations of their owners; how some were saved from financial collapse; and how first Railtrack and then franchising ran into the sand. He describes how all attempts to put right the mistakes made when trains and infrastructure were separated have failed. In describing key events he explains the roles of many of the senior managers, civil servants and politicians who were centrally involved. This book shows that the country's railway was only organised effectively for a brief period during the early 1990s. Politically-motivated reforms then and since have created an industry that today is neither truly privatised nor fit for purpose.