Britain's Railways in the 1970s

Britain's Railways in the 1970s
Author: David Hayes
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 175
Release: 2019-04-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1445685582

A nostalgic overview of the rail scene in the 1970s. The photographs in this book try to capture a flavour of the railways during this fascinating transition period.

British Railways in the 1970s and ’80s

British Railways in the 1970s and ’80s
Author: Greg Morse
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 65
Release: 2013-08-10
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 0747814104

For British Rail, the 1970s was a time of contrasts, when bad jokes about sandwiches and pork pies often belied real achievements, like increasing computerisation and the arrival of the high-speed Inter-City 125s. But while television advertisements told of an 'Age of the Train', Monday morning misery continued for many, the commuter experience steadily worsening as rolling stock aged and grew ever more uncomfortable. Even when BR launched new electrification schemes and new suburban trains in the 1980s, focus still fell on the problems that beset the Advanced Passenger Train, whose ignominious end came under full media glare. In British Railways in the 1970s and '80s, Greg Morse guides us through a world of Traveller's Fare, concrete concourses and peak-capped porters, a difficult period that began with the aftershock of Beeching but ended with BR becoming the first nationalised passenger network in the world to make a profit.

British Rail Scene

British Rail Scene
Author: Andy Sparks
Publisher: History Press
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2017-03
Genre: Railroads
ISBN: 9780750970136

Taking railway photographs and capturing an age of impressive locomotives and atmospheric stations is a pastime that the age of steam passed down through generations, even after its own decline in favour of diesel and electric traction. It was certainly one that avid teenage trainspotter Andy Sparks sought to take up, emulating the work of prized 1960s railway photographer Colin T. Gifford. But by the 1970s, when Andy's camera was at the ready and after Beeching's axe had come down on the British railway network, modernisation and rationalisation were rapidly sweeping away the vestiges of the previous age, and dereliction and decay intertwined much of what could be seen. Desperate to capture the scene, Andy took thousands of photographs from 1972 until the early 1980s, and his images beautifully convey the nostalgic, gritty years of that era of change on Britain's railways. From his lens to the pages of this book, this is a unique look at an oft-overlooked period of British railway history.

British Railway Infrastructure Since 1970

British Railway Infrastructure Since 1970
Author: Paul D. Shannon
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2019-11-30
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 152673480X

With words and pictures, a railway enthusiast examines the huge changes in the British railway network over a 50-year period. Looking at trains in Great Britain from 1970 to 2020, we see how steam-age infrastructure has gradually given way to a streamlined modern railway. The beginning of the period saw the final stages of the Beeching cuts, with the closure of some rural branches and lesser-used stations. Since the 1980s, the tide has turned, and numerous lines and stations have joined or rejoined the network. As for freight, we see how the complex operations of the 20th century have been replaced by a far smaller number of specialized terminals, while marshalling yards in the traditional sense have all but disappeared. And the long process of updating our railway signaling has continued apace, even though some semaphore gems have managed to survive into the 21st century. “This book looks at all the various changes that have taken place in Britain’s railways since 1970 . . . . Such things as freight, stations closing and opening, or re-opening, locomotive depots and signaling are all covered in detail. What makes this book so good is the number of photographs supplied by the author ranging from back in the 1970s to the present. This is a book worth having if you are interested in the infrastructure of Britain's railways. Beautifully illustrated.” —Branch Line Britain “An interesting and recommended work.” —West Somerset Railway Association

The Reshaping of British Railways

The Reshaping of British Railways
Author: British Railway Board
Publisher: Collins
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2013-01-01
Genre: Railroads
ISBN: 9780007511969

The Reshaping of British Railways is a piece of railway history every dedicated enthusiast will want in their collection. Bradshaw's Guide has given birth to a wave of nostalgia for our Victorian and Edwardian railway systems. The Reshaping of British Railways, another facsimile which will fascinate train buffs, is the document that decimated these systems forever. With the British Rail company's failure, by the early 1960s, to stem the network's huge annual losses, the government turned to Dr Richard Beeching. He was to save money by recommending the cutting of redundant routes and services. His two reports, The Reshaping of British Railways (1963) and The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes (1965), were published by the British Railways Board in 1965, and offer a fascinating snapshot of our nation's railways. In the first part of this historic facsimile, Dr Beeching identifies the 2,363 stations and 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of railway line for closure - over 50% of all stations and 30% of route miles. The second part recommends a small number of major remaining routes for significant investment. Well documented nationwide protests resulted in the saving of some stations and lines, but the majority were closed as planned and Beeching's name is to this day associated with the mass closure of railways and the loss of many local services in the period that followed. Now, for the first time, this iconic piece of railway history is available in its entirety, complete with the original tables and maps of routes deemed fit for closure.

The Seventies Railway

The Seventies Railway
Author: Greg Morse
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 125
Release: 2018-02-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1445672251

The decade of blue and grey, of red-striped container trains, and curly sandwiches, once derided but now beloved of a generation of train lovers, here encapsulated by Greg Morse in full colour.

Rail Atlas 1970

Rail Atlas 1970
Author: Hardb
Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2003
Genre: Railroads
ISBN: 9780711029651

In 1963 the then Chairman of the British Railways Board, Dr (later Lord) Richard Beeching produced his report on the future structure of the railway industry. Innocuously entitled The Reshaping of Britain's Railways, the report was to become one of the most controversial documents ever produced on a major British industry and, 40 years on, still represents one of the defining moments of Britain's railway history. Tasked by the government with reducing the ever-increasing losses suffered by the railway industry, Beeching's response was to take a root-and-branch analysis of each line that was still operational; the result was the infamous 'axe' - the proposal to close vast swathes of the railway network, thereby creating vast areas that were no longer served by rall. Although there were more positive aspects to the report, such as the emphasis on bulk freight traffic, it was the closure programme that most people, and especially railway enthusiasts, remember most. From 1964 onwards, the railways contracted rapidly; even the election of a new Labour Government in 1964 failed to stem the flow of closures but, by 1970, the majority of closures scheduled by Beeching had occurred.The early 1970s, however, did witness further limited closures as many of the lines which had been reprieved earlier, such as the lines serving much of east Lincolnshire, succumbed. In the second of Ian Allan Publishing's new series of historical railway atlases, the year 1970 comes under the spotlight. Taking 1 May 1970 as the cut off, the book provides a graphic portrait of the railway network as it existed after the wholesale closures of the 1960s. In 45 full colour maps, along with a comprehensive index, the user is provided with an interesting snapsnot of the railway industry at the time. For many, it will be illuminating to see how many routes survived the Beeching era only to succumb in the period after 1970; routes such as those to Bridport, lifracombe, Swanage and Minehead all feature as passenger routes while others, such as the branch to Hemyock, continued to eke out their existence as freight only lines.

The Beaten Track

The Beaten Track
Author: ANDY. CHARD
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2021-10
Genre: Railroads
ISBN: 9781909431881

BR Blue in the 1970s and 1980s

BR Blue in the 1970s and 1980s
Author: Andrew Cole
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2017-09-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1445674033

A look at an iconic period in British rail history.