. D5500–5534: 80 mph (129 km/h). Remainder: 90 mph (145 km/h)Power outputEngine: Mirrlees: 1,250 (930 kW) or 1,365 (1,018 kW) English Electric: 1,470 (1,100 kW) At rail: 1,170 hp (870 kW)Maximum: 35,900 (159,691 )Brakeforce49 (488 kN)CareerOperatorsNumbersD5500–D5699, D5800–D5862, later 0Axle load class5 or 6Withdrawn1975–2018DispositionOne in service on main line; 26 preserved, remainder scrappedThe Class 31, also known as the Brush Type 2 and originally as Class 30, were built by from 1957-62.
They were numbered in two series, D5500-D5699 and D5800-D5862. British Railways ( BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the 'Big Four' British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages between 1994 and 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in 1962 designated as the British Railways Board. Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives, part of Wabtec Corporation, based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, UK, and situated alongside the Midland Main Line.
Contents.DescriptionConstruction of the first locomotive was completed in the final week of September 1957, and the handing-over took place on 31 October. The Class 31 entered service in November 1957, after the launch of the locomotive and was one of the locomotives ordered by British Railways to replace steam traction. The British Rail (BR) Class 20, otherwise known as an English Electric Type 1, is a class of diesel-electric locomotive. In total, 228 locomotives in the class were built by English Electric between 1957 and 1968, the large number being in part because of the failure of other early designs in the same power range to provide reliable locomotives. EnginesThey were originally built with JVS12T 1,250 bhp (930 kW) (D5500–D5519) and 1,365 bhp (1,018 kW) engines and Brush electrical equipment, but the engines were not successful and in 1964 D5677 was fitted with an 12SVT engine (similar to the 12CSVT used in the but without an intercooler) rated at 1,470 bhp (1,100 kW).
The trial proved successful, and between 1965 and 1969 the entire class was re-engined. The de-rated engine was used as it was the maximum the electrical system could accept. The Eastern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948, whose operating area could be identified from the dark blue signs and colour schemes that adorned its station and other railway buildings. Together with the North Eastern Region, it covered most lines of the former London and North Eastern Railway, except in Scotland.
By 1988 the Eastern Region had been divided again into the Eastern Region and the new Anglia Region, with the boundary points being between Peterborough and Whittlesea, and between Royston and Meldreth. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992. The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right on completion of the 'Organising for Quality' initiative on 6 April 1992. The Region consisted principally of ex-Great Western Railway lines, minus certain lines west of Birmingham, which were transferred to the London Midland Region in 1963 and with the addition of all former Southern Railway routes west of Exeter, which were subsequently rationalised. Sub-classesSeveral sub-classes of Class 31 exist:. 31/0 - First batch of locos, fitted with Red Circle electro-magnetic - withdrawn in the late 1970s as non-standard.
5. 31/1 - The standard locomotive, electro-pneumatic control. RA 5. 31/4 - As Class 31/1 but fitted with Brush (ETH) apparatus.
RA 6. 31/5 - Former 31/4 with the ETH isolated for Civil Engineers Department use. RA 6. 31/6 - Standard locomotive through wired for ETH but without ETH apparatus. On the UK rail network, multiple working is where two or more traction units are coupled together in such a way that they are all under the control of one driver. Class 31/0 D5513, one of the original batch, in BR green liveryThese first 20 locomotives, originally numbered D5500–D5519, were always easily recognisable as they did not have the headcode box mounted on the roof above the cab, leading to the nickname 'Skinheads'.
They were also nicknamed 'Gurglers' from the noise of their engines, and 'Toffee Apples' from the shape of the control key which had to be taken from cab to cab when changing ends. These pilot scheme locomotives were non-standard in having Electro-Magnetic Multiple-Working control equipment, and were limited to 80 mph (130 km/h). After being involved in a serious collision D5518 was rebuilt in September 1967 as a standard locomotive, with indicator boxes, and blue star coupling codeThey were allocated to sheds throughout their service, ending up allocated to, their initial shed, and latterly sporting that depot's trademark silver roof.
Upon withdrawal four locomotives were converted at into train pre-heating units. Locomotives 31 013, 31 002, 31 014 and 31 008 were renumbered ADB968013 to ADB968016 in the order given; ADB968014 was allocated to Bounds Green depot on the Great Northern main line and ADB968015 was based at, while the remaining two were allocated to.
Class 31/1 Class 31/1 on Sharnbrook bank with a short van train in April 1985The first few locos externally had much in common with the original 31/0s as twenty lacked the roof mounted headcode box (D5520–29/35/39/42/47/51/52/55/56/59/62), and fifteen were also limited to 80 mph (130 km/h) (D5520–D5534), but were otherwise the same as subsequent locos. The whole sub-class had boilers fitted, had the Blue Star Electro-Pneumatic multiple-working controls as found on many other BR classes. The Class 31/1s could be found on a variety of secondary and relief passenger duties as well as parcels and freight traffic. While used in, with locos allocated to and depots, they were found throughout the with sporting a large allocation along with the depots at,.
Locos were also allocated to and on the, where they could be found working passenger trains as far west as Barnstaple and Paignton. In the early 1980s and on the also gained an allocation as replacements for.
Class 31/4 31418 at Birmingham New Street.The Class 31/4s, numbered from 31 400 to 31 469, were conversions of 31/1s to which was fitted. They had an ETH index of 66, equivalent to 330 kW, which was sufficient to power trains of up to eleven. This allowed them to pre-heat long trains, whose service run would be worked by a larger locomotive, between depot and terminus, although in actual passenger service loads rarely exceeded four or five carriages. 330 kW accounted for about a third of the total electrical power output. The early conversions tapped off the main generator such that none of the ETH power was available for traction even if the ETH was not being used. The traction power output of some of the 31/4 subclass was therefore limited to a maximum of two-thirds of that of the non-ETH variants, this did not help the performance of an already somewhat underpowered locomotive, and late running of these 31/4-hauled services sometimes happened. Later conversions allowed unused ETH power to be used for traction.
Class 31/5 31549 at Peterborough in 1994.In the late 1980s with increased use of 'Sprinter' type units on previously loco hauled diagrams, there were ETH fitted Locomotives to spare and with this in mind, some Class 31's were selected to have their ETH cables removed from the front buffer beam. This was done to try to prevent passenger sectors of BR borrowing the locomotives from the Freight sectors, and to cut down on maintenance of surplus equipment. The re-numbering was achieved by simply adding 100 to the existing TOPS number i.e.
31 407 became 31 507. When the re-numbering was taking place, most locos were still in standard BR Blue livery and the 4 in the number was painted over and a 5 placed over the top. Some of the sub-class were painted into Civil Engineers all over Grey livery, although most were subsequently painted into the 'Dutch' Yellow and Grey livery. Only 31 530 (Sister Dora), 31 544 and 31 568 (The Engineman’s Fund) were named when numbered as a 31/5. 31 544 was also notable as the only one of the sub-class with the original 'toffee apple' style cabs without the route indicators on the roof. Class 31/6Only two locomotives (31 601 and 31 602, formerly 31 186 and 31 191 respectively ) received this modification, performed during their time with Fragonset Railways.
This modification means they are though wired for Electric Train Heating (ETH) but cannot actually provide it. This means they can be coupled to a train behind another locomotive (with full ETH capabilities), and the front locomotive is still able to heat the train.
31 601 is now preserved at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway where it regularly operates trains while 31 602 is thought to be stored out of use, having been withdrawn from main line use. OperationInitial deliveries of Class 31/0 locomotives were to in east London and deliveries continued with Class 31/1 locos going to the and regions. Class 31s were first used on the in 1969 when No. 5535 was allocated to to work Empty Coaching Stock (ECS) trains into. Accidents and incidents A 31 with accident damage. On 11 September 1975, 31 150 was involved in a head-on collision at Tunnel, with a loose brake van and coke wagons. This locomotive was the first of the class to be withdrawn.
On 2 January 1976, locomotive 31 241 was hauling a parcels train when a light engine ran into its rear. Time interval working was in force at the time.
On 25 February 1979, locomotive 31 421 was hauling an engineering train that was working under a possession between and,. The adjacent line was open to traffic. A crane in the engineering train was foul of the other line when it was struck by a passing passenger train. One person was killed and nine were injured.
On 9 March 1986, locomotive No. 31 436 was hauling a passenger train that was in a head-on collision with two light engines at, due to a signalman's error. One person was killed.
Lack of training and a power cut were contributory factors. On 20 February 1987, a freight train ran away and was derailed by trap points at North Junction, Chinley. Locomotive No. 31 440 was hauling a train that collided with the wreckage. On 28 October 1988 two unmanned Class 31 locos (31 202 and 31 226), presumably with brakes not fully applied, rolled off together along a short siding at North London's. After demolishing the buffer stop they ran down the embankment on to the, although no-one was hurt. The second loco of the pair landed on the roof of the leading one, remaining precariously balanced.
They were both withdrawn after the incident.Commercial operators Distribution of locomotives,March 1974. SFCodeNameQuantityBR13CW2FP51GD8HO15IM41MR52OC19SF24TE12TI22YK4Total:263English, Welsh & ScottishBefore the introduction of, (EWS) took control of the class 31s from the and companies. 31 466 was repainted into EWS colours for the open day in May 1998 and soon became the only one of the class to be in traffic running in the EWS colours. 31 255 also received EWS colours but never ran on the main line and spent its life at Toton until preservation.
In their final days of EWS ownership, 31 110 (scrapped at TJ Thompson's, Stockton in April 2007) was repainted into BR green in the summer of 1999 and featured its original number D5528 to mark the end of their working lives with EWS and worked the last EWS class 31 hauled railtour. The final four EWS locomotives were withdrawn in February 2001.
The two EWS liveried locos, 31 255 is now owned by for mainline use and 31 466 is now preserved. FM Rail Class 31, no. 31454, in Fragonset livery on 16 April 2004In 1998, purchased four redundant Class 31 locomotives from EWS. The first of these, no. 31 452, was quickly repaired and repainted in a new black livery with a red mid-body band. It was quickly followed by nos. 31 459 and 31 468.
Several more locomotives were also purchased, and in 1999, the first of two modified Class 31/6 locomotives re-entered traffic. The Class 31/6 31 601 (ex 31 186) & 31 602 (ex 31 191) subclass is essentially a modified Class 31/1 locomotive with through electric-train heating wiring. This enables a Class 31/4 and Class 31/6 to work in multiple and still heat the train, even if the no-heat Class 31/6 is attached to the carriages.In 1999, Fragonset won a short-term contract with for two locomotives to work in mode with two on the. This was to cover for the non-availability of. The trial was a success, and in 2000 it was repeated in the summer timetable.
The locomotives were retained until displaced by more modern units cascaded from.By this time, the Fragonset Class 31 fleet had expanded considerably to include three Class 31/1s, three Class 31/4s and two Class 31/6 locomotives. Regular work at this time included use hauling from 's to for use with. As units were still maintained at Hornsey, this meant regular workings between the two depots to swap units when maintenance was due. Mainline RailAfter the demise of FM Rail, several of its Class 31s passed to, operated. As of November 2008, four 31/4s and one 31/6 are owned by RMS Locotec, which is a subsidiary of. Nemesis RailClass 31 numbers 31 128 and 31 461 are now owned by, based at.
31 128 is an ex-Fragonset locomotive. Network Rail 31105 passes Chesterfield working 4Q25 Derby RTC - Test trainoperated a fleet of three Class 31/1 locomotives, nos. 31 105/233/285, and one Class 31/4 locomotive, 31 465 to haul test trains around the network.
The locomotives were purchased from, and overhauled at its workshops. They were been repainted in Network Rail's then new all-over yellow livery.
31 285 and 31 465 were offered for sale by tender in July 2015, and 31 233 and 31 105 in August 2018.Prior to operating its own locomotives, Network Rail's predecessor, had hired two Class 31 locomotives from Fragonset. These two locomotives, nos. 31 190 and 31 601, were repainted in Railtrack's blue and lime green livery.
With the overhaul and entry into service of Network Rail's own locomotives, these two engines were returned to Fragonset. (They are now owned by, based at Washwood Heath in Birmingham.)No. 31 106, formerly Spalding Town, is privately owned by Howard Johnston, and after a period of lease to Fragonset, FM Rail, and RVEL which included extensive main line running for 11 years, including working as far north as Oban in Scotland, is based at the Weardale Railway. After inspection, it was successfully started on 17 October 2017 and moved under its own power for the first time in four years. Johnston purchased three more of the class from EWS, but they acquired new owners; 31 107 (scrapped by at Rotherham in May 2009, following a staged collision with a on a during in 2006), 31 289 (preserved at the ), and 31 301 (scrapped).In August 2018 Network Rail offered its final two class 31's (233/105) up for sale, both being sold into preservation. Preservation Currently preservedAround 26 locomotives have been purchased, and preserved, for use on around the UK. Of note are the first built, no.
31 018, and the last built, no. There were a further 10, which have subsequently been scrapped. 31601 in green livery, working a test train south of.Media Number 31 107, seen at RVEL Derby, was the locomotive used in the Top Gear crash.
Midland Mainline Timetable Derby
On 21 August 2006, Network Rail and the programme staged and filmed a crash between a Class 31 locomotive (31 107) and a family car in order to promote rail safety. The off-limits event was the first of its type for 10 years and took place at near Scawby in, where the B1206 road crosses the Barnetby–Gainsborough railway line. Two Class 31 locomotives and a parked were used during the crash. 's 31 233 was used to propel 31 107 up to a speed of 80 mph (130 km/h).
The rear locomotive slowed down to a stop and 31 107 continued to coast at a speed of 70–80 miles per hour into the road vehicle parked across the eastbound 'up' line. For the crash, locomotive 31 107 received a special black livery with the slogan 'Level crossings — Don't run the risk' along the side in white lettering. The final 5 minute segment was originally scheduled for 4 February 2007 but was rescheduled, apparently due to a fatal crossing crash at Dingwall two days earlier.
It was eventually aired on on 25 February 2007, shortly after the. A repeat of the programme was pulled following a further level-crossing accident.
Locomotive No. 31 120 appears in book.Models. This section does not any. Unsourced material may be challenged. The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive built by British Railways (BR).
As the standard BR general-purpose diesel shunter, the class became a familiar sight at major stations and freight yards. Since their introduction the nature of rail traffic in Britain has changed considerably. Freight trains are now mostly fixed rakes of wagons, and passenger trains are mostly multiple units, neither requiring the attention of a shunting locomotive.
Consequently, a large proportion of the class has been withdrawn from mainline use and stored, scrapped, exported or sold to industrial or heritage railways. The British Rail Class 40 is a type of British railway diesel electric locomotive. A total of 200 were built by English Electric between 1958 and 1962.
They were numbered D200-D399. They were for a time the pride of the British Rail early diesel fleet. Despite their initial success, by the time the last examples were entering service they were already being replaced on some top-link duties by more powerful locomotives. As they were slowly relegated from express passenger uses, the type found work on secondary passenger and freight services where they worked for many years.
The final locomotives ended regular service in 1985. The British Rail Class 86 is the standard electric locomotive built during the 1960s. One hundred of these locomotives were built from 1965 to 1966 by either English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows, or British Rail (BR) at their Doncaster works. The class was built to haul trains on the then newly electrified West Coast Main Line, from London Euston, to Birmingham, Crewe, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool and later Preston and Glasgow.
They helped to replace steam locomotives, which were finally withdrawn by BR in 1968. The British Rail Class 73 is a British electro-diesel locomotive. The type is unusual in that it can operate from the Southern Region's 650/750 V DC third-rail or an on-board diesel engine to allow it to operate on non-electrified routes. This makes it very versatile, although the diesel engine produces less power than is available from the third-rail supply so the locomotives are rarely operated outside of the former Southern Region of British Rail. Following the withdrawal and scrapping of the more powerful Class 74 electro-diesels in 1977, the Class 73 was unique on the British railway network until the introduction of the Class 88 electro-diesels in 2017.
Ten locomotives have been scrapped. The British Rail Class 50 was a class of 50 diesel locomotives designed to haul express passenger trains at 100 mph. Built by English Electric at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows between 1967 and 1968, the Class 50's were initially on a 10-year lease from English Electric Leasing, and were employed hauling express passenger trains on the, then non-electrified, section of the West Coast Main Line between Crewe and Scotland.
Initially numbered D400 - D449 and known as English Electric Type 4s, the locomotives were purchased outright by British Rail (BR) at the end of the lease and became Class 50 in the TOPS renumbering of 1973. The class were nicknamed 'Hoovers' by rail enthusiasts because of the distinctive sound made by the dynamic braking resistor cooling fan arrangement. Once the electrification from Crewe to Glasgow was completed the locomotives were moved to the Great Western Mainline out of Paddington to allow the retirement of the remaining diesel-hydraulic locomotives then in use. As trains on the GW Mainline steadily moved to High Speed Train operation from 1976, the Class 50s moved to hauling trains between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids, and also trains from London Paddington to Hereford and Worcester via Oxford until the majority of those trains too were taken over by IC125 operation.
The class was steadily retired from service in the late 1980s and early 1990s as their services moved to operation by second-generation DMUs designated as Class 159. British Railways' (BR) Type 4 Warship class diesel-hydraulic locomotives were introduced in 1958.
It was apparent at that time that the largest centre of expertise on diesel-hydraulic locomotives was in West Germany. The Western Region of British Railways negotiated a licence with German manufacturers to scale down the German Federal Railway's 'V200' design to suit the smaller loading gauge of the British network, and to allow British manufacturers to construct the new locomotives. The resultant design bears a close resemblance, both cosmetically, and in the engineering employed, to the original V200 design. Warship locomotives were divided into two batches: those built at BR's Swindon works were numbered in the series D800 to D832 and from D866 to D870, had a maximum tractive effort of 52,400 pounds-force (233,000 N) and eventually became British Rail Class 42. 33 others, D833–865, were constructed by the North British Locomotive Company and became British Rail Class 43.
They were allocated to Bristol Bath Road, Plymouth Laira, Newton Abbot and Old Oak Common.
.British Railways ( BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the state-owned company that operated most of the overground between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the of the and lasted until the gradual, in stages between 1994 and 1997.
Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the, it became an independent in 1962 designated as the.The period of nationalisation saw sweeping changes in the national railway network. A process of and took place, and by 1968 steam locomotion had been entirely replaced by diesel and electric traction, except for the (a tourist line). Replaced as the main source of business, and one third of the network was closed by the of the 1960s in an effort to reduce.On privatisation, responsibility for track, signalling and stations was transferred to (which was later brought under public control as ) and that for trains to the.The British Rail 'double arrow' logo is formed of two interlocked arrows showing the direction of travel on a railway and was nicknamed 'the arrow of indecision'. It is now employed as a generic symbol on street signs in Great Britain denoting railway stations, and as part of the 's (RDG) jointly-managed brand is still printed on railway tickets. BR steam locomotive: number 70013The rail transport system in Great Britain developed during the 19th century. After the grouping of 1923 under the, there were four large railway companies, each dominating its own geographic area: the (GWR), the (LMS), the (LNER) and the (SR). During the railways were under state control, which continued until 1921.
Complete had been considered, and the is sometimes considered as a precursor to that, but the concept was rejected. Nationalisation was subsequently carried out after, under the. This Act made provision for the nationalisation of the network, as part of a policy of nationalising public services by 's Government. British Railways came into existence as the of the of the (BTC) on 1 January 1948 when it took over the assets of the Big Four.There were also between the Big Four and a few light railways to consider (see ). Excluded from nationalisation were industrial lines like the. The – publicly owned since 1933 – was also nationalised, becoming the of the British Transport Commission. The was already run by the government.
The electric was also excluded from nationalisation. The Railway Executive was conscious that some lines on the (then very dense) network were unprofitable and hard to justify socially, and a programme of closures began almost immediately after nationalisation. However, the general financial position of BR became gradually poorer, until an operating loss was recorded in 1955. The Executive itself had been abolished in 1953 by the Conservative government, and control of BR transferred to the parent Commission. Other changes to the British Transport Commission at the same time included the return of road haulage to the private sector.
Regions British Railways was divided into regions which were initially based on the areas the former Big Four operated in; later, several lines were transferred between regions. Notably, these included the former lines from the Eastern Region to the London Midland Region, and the from the Southern Region to Western Region.: former Southern Railway lines.: former Great Western Railway lines.: former London Midland and Scottish Railway lines in England and Wales.: former London and North Eastern Railway lines south of York.: former London and North Eastern Railway lines in England north of York.: all lines, regardless of original company, in Scotland.The North Eastern Region was merged with the Eastern Region in 1967.
In 1982, the regions were abolished and replaced by 'business sectors', a process known as.The Anglia Region was created in late 1987, its first General Manager being John Edmonds, who began his appointment on 19 October 1987. Full separation from the Eastern Region – apart from engineering design needs – occurred on 29 April 1988.
It handled the services from and, its western boundary being,. 1955 Modernisation Plan. AtThe report, latterly known as the 'Modernisation Plan', was published in January 1955.
It was intended to bring the railway system into the 20th century. A government produced in 1956 stated that modernisation would help eliminate BR's financial deficit by 1962, but the figures in both this and the original plan were produced for political reasons and not based on detailed analysis. The aim was to increase speed, reliability, safety, and line capacity through a series of measures that would make services more attractive to passengers and freight operators, thus recovering traffic lost to the roads. Important areas included:. of principal main lines, in the, Birmingham to Liverpool/Manchester and Central. Large-scale to replace.
New passenger and freight. and track renewals. Modern. The closure of an unspecified, but relatively small, number of linesThe government appeared to endorse the 1955 programme (costing £1.2 billion), but did so largely for political reasons. This included the withdrawal of steam traction and its replacement by diesel (and some electric) locomotives. Not all the modernisations would be effective at reducing costs.
The dieselisation programme gave contracts primarily to British suppliers, who had limited experience of diesel locomotive manufacture, and rushed commissioning based on an expectation of rapid electrification; this resulted in numbers of locomotives with poor designs, and a lack of standardisation. At the same time, freight was being developed.
The marshalling yard building programme was a failure, being based on a belief in the continued viability of traffic in the face of increasingly effective road competition, and lacking effective forward planning or realistic assessments of future freight. A 2002 documentary broadcast on blamed the 1950s decisions for the 'beleaguered' condition of the railway system at that time. The Beeching reports.
Main article:During the late 1950s, railway finances continued to worsen, whilst passenger numbers grew after restoring many services reduced during the war, and in 1959 the government stepped in, limiting the amount the BTC could spend without ministerial authority. A White Paper proposing reorganisation was published in the following year, and a new structure was brought into effect by the Transport Act 1962. This abolished the Commission and replaced it by several separate Boards. These included a British Railways Board, which took over on 1 January 1963. A truck in British Railways livery, London, 1962.
British Railways was involved in numerous related businesses including road haulageFollowing semi-secret discussions on railway finances by the government-appointed Stedeford Committee in 1961, one of its members, was offered the post of chairing the BTC while it lasted, and then becoming the first Chairman of the British Railways Board.A major traffic census in April 1961, which lasted one week, was used in the compilation of a report on the future of the network. This report— The Reshaping of British Railways—was published by the BRB in March 1963. The proposals, which became known as the ', were dramatic. A third of all passenger services and more than 4,000 of the 7,000 stations would close. Beeching, who is thought to have been the author of most of the report, set out some dire figures. One third of the network was carrying just 1% of the traffic. Of the 18,000 passenger coaches, 6,000 were said to be used only 18 times a year or less.
Although maintaining them cost between £3m and £4m a year, they earned only about £0.5m.Most of the closures were carried out between 1963 and 1970 (including some which were not listed in the report) while other suggested closures were not carried out. The closures were heavily criticised at the time, and continue to be controversial. A small number of stations and lines closed under the Beeching programme have been reopened, with further reopenings proposed.A second Beeching report, 'The Development of the Major Trunk Routes', followed in 1965. This did not recommend closures as such, but outlined a 'network for development'. The fate of the rest of the network was not discussed in the report.Post-Beeching The basis for calculating passenger fares changed in 1964. In future, fares on some routes—such as rural, holiday and commuter services—would be set at a higher level than on other routes; previously, fares had been calculated using a simple rate for the distance travelled, which at the time was 3 per mile second class, and 4½d per mile first class (equivalent to £0.25 and £0.37 respectively, in 2018 ).Passenger levels decreased steadily from 1962 to the late 1970s, and reached a low in 1982.
Train Simulator 2018 Routes
Network improvements included completing electrification of the from London to Norwich between 1976 and 1986 and the from London to Edinburgh between 1985 and 1990. A main line route closure during this period of relative network stability was the 1500 V DC-electrified between Manchester and Sheffield: passenger service ceased in 1970 and goods in 1981.The 1980s and 1990s saw the closure of some railways which had survived the Beeching Axe a generation earlier, but which had seen passenger services withdrawn. This included the bulk of the in 1992, the to section of the in 1993, while the to section of the Great Western Railway was closed in three phases between 1972 and 1992.A further British Rail report, from a committee chaired by Sir David Serpell, was published in 1983. The made no recommendations as such, but did set out various options for the network including, at their most extreme, a skeletal system of less than 2000 route km. This report was not welcomed, and the government decided to quietly leave it on the shelf.
Meanwhile, BR was gradually reorganised, with the regional structure finally being abolished and replaced with business-led sectors. This process, known as 'sectorisation', led to far greater customer focus, but was cut short in 1994 with the splitting up of BR for privatisation. With a at servingUpon sectorisation in 1982, three passenger sectors were created:, operating principal express services; London & South East (renamed in 1986) operating commuter services in the London area; and Provincial (renamed in 1989) responsible for all other passenger services.
In the local services were managed by the. Provincial was the most subsidised (per passenger km) of the three sectors; upon formation, its costs were four times its. During the 1980s British Rail ran the membership club aimed at 5- to 15-year-olds.Because British Railways was such a large operation, running not just railways but also ferries, steamships and hotels, it has been considered difficult to analyse the effects of nationalisation.Prices rose quickly in this period, rising 108% in real terms from 1979 to 1994, as prices rose by 262% but RPI only increased by 154% in the same time. Branding. Main article: Pre-1960s Following nationalisation in 1948, British Railways began to adapt the corporate liveries on the rolling stock it had inherited from its predecessor railway companies.
Initially, an express blue (followed by -style in 1952) was used on passenger locomotives, and -style lined black for mixed-traffic locomotives, but later green was more widely adopted.Development of a corporate identity for the organisation was hampered by the competing ambitions of the and the. The Executive attempted to introduce a modern, curved logo which could also serve as the standard for station signage totems. Due to its similarity to a, it became known as the 'flying sausage'.
BR eventually adopted the common branding of the BTC as its first corporate logo, an -style motif of a astride a spoked wheel, designed for the BTC by; on the bar overlaid across the wheel, the BTC's name was replaced with the words 'British Railways'. This logo, nicknamed the 'Cycling Lion', was applied from 1948 to 1956 to the sides of locomotives, while the sausage logo was adopted for station signs across Great Britain, each coloured according to the appropriate BR region.In 1956, the BTC was granted a by the and the, and then BTC chairman wanted a grander logo for the railways. BR's second corporate logo (1956–1965), designed in consultation with, adapted the original, depicting a rampant lion emerging from a and holding a spoked wheel, all enclosed in a roundel with the 'British Railways' name displayed across a bar on either side. This emblem soon acquired the nickname of the 'Ferret and Dartboard'. A variant of the logo with the name in a circle was also used on locomotives. The British Rail 'Double Arrow' designed by Gerald Barney (1965)The zeal for modernisation in the Beeching era drove the next rebranding exercise, and BR management wished to divest the organisation of anachronistic, heraldic motifs and develop a corporate identity to rival that of. BR's design panel set up a working party led by of the.
They drew up which established a coherent brand and design standard for the whole organisation, specifying and pearl grey as the standard colour scheme for all rolling stock; as the standard corporate typeface, designed by and; and introducing the now-iconic Corporate Identity Symbol of the 'Double Arrow' logo. Designed by Gerald Barney (also of the DRU), this arrow device was formed of two interlocked arrows across two parallel lines, symbolising a double track railway.
It was likened to a bolt of or, and also acquired a nickname: 'the arrow of indecision'. A mirror image of the double arrow was used on the of BR-owned ferry funnels. The new BR corporate identity and Double Arrow were rolled out in 1965, and the brand name of the organisation was truncated to 'British Rail'. Post-1960s The uniformity of BR branding continued until the process of was introduced in the 1980s. Certain BR operations such as, or began to adopt their own identities, introducing logos and colour schemes which were essentially variants of the British Rail brand. Eventually, as sectorisation developed into a prelude to privatisation, the unified British Rail brand disappeared, with the notable exception of the Double Arrow symbol, which has survived to this day and serves as a to denote railway services across Great Britain. The BR Corporate Identity Manual is noted as a piece of British and there are plans for it to be re-published.
Finances Despite its nationalisation in 1947 'as one of the 'commanding heights' of the economy', according to some sources British Rail was not profitable for most (if not all) of its history. Newspapers reported that as recently as the 1990s, public was counted as profit; as early as 1961, British Railways were losing £300,000 a day.It was thought that most of the nationalised railways (excluding some freight services) would cease to operate like other unprofitable privatised businesses in the UK, and British Rail's profitability was questioned. Although the company was considered the sole public-transport option in many rural areas, the made buses the only public transport available in some rural areas. Despite increases in traffic congestion and automotive fuel prices beginning to rise in the 1990s, British Rail remained unprofitable. Following sectorisation, InterCity became profitable. This sector became the first long distance passenger railway in the UK to go into profit.
InterCity became one of Britain's top 150 companies with civilised city centre to city centre travel across the nation from and in the north to and in the south. Investment In 1979 the incoming led by Margaret Thatcher was viewed as anti-railway, and did not want to commit public money to the railways. However, British Rail was allowed to spend its own money with government approval. This led to a number of electrification projects being given the go-ahead, including the, the spur from Doncaster to Leeds, and the lines in East Anglia out of London Liverpool Street to Norwich. The Waterloo & City line was part of Network SouthEast.The, part of BR Network SouthEast, was not included in the privatisation and was transferred to in December 1994. The remaining obligations of British Rail were transferred to.The privatisation, proposed by the Conservative government in 1992, was opposed by the and the rail unions.
Although Labour initially proposed to reverse privatisation, the manifesto of 1997 instead opposed Conservative plans to privatise the London Underground. Rail unions have historically opposed privatisation, but former general secretary moved to work for, and said on a 2004 radio phone-in programme: 'All the time it was in the public sector, all we got were cuts, cuts, cuts. And today there are more members in the trade union, more train drivers, and more trains running. The reality is that it worked, we’ve protected jobs, and we got more jobs.'
Accidents and incidents. Crowds on a railtour at Maesteg Castle Street Station since reopened by BR as theThe former BR network, with the trunk routes of the, and, and other lines.Preserved lines The narrow-gauge in Ceredigion, Wales became part of British Railways at nationalisation. Although built as a working railway, in 1948 the line was principally a. British Rail operated the line using steam locomotives, long after the withdrawal of standard-gauge steam. The line's three steam locomotives were the only ones to receive serial numbers and be painted in BR Rail Blue livery with the double arrow logo. The Vale of Rheidol Railway was privatised in 1989 and continues to operate as a private heritage railway.Other preserved lines, or, have reopened lines previously closed by British Rail. These range from picturesque rural branch lines like the to sections of mainline such as the.
Many have links to the National Rail network, both at station interchanges, for example the between and, and physical rail connections like the at.Although most are operated solely as leisure amenities some also provide educational resources, and a few have ambitions to restore commercial services over routes abandoned by the nationalised industry.Marine services Ships. See also:, andUnder the process of British Rail's privatisation, operations were split into more than 100 companies. The ownership and operation of the infrastructure of the railway system was taken over by Railtrack. The Telecomms infrastructure and was sold to, which in turn was sold to and merged with. The rolling stock was transferred to three private (rolling stock companies).
Passenger services were divided into 25 operating companies, which were let on a franchise basis for a set period, whilst goods services were sold off completely. Dozens of smaller engineering and maintenance companies were also created and sold off.British Rail's passenger services came to an end upon the franchising of; the final train that the company operated was a goods train in autumn 1997. The British Railways Board continued in existence as a corporation until early 2001, when it was replaced with the.Since privatisation, the structure of the rail industry and number of companies has changed several times as franchises have been re-let and the areas covered by franchises restructured. Bring Back British Rail logoThe renationalisation of the railways of Britain continues to have popular support. Polls in 2012 and 2013 showed 70% and 66% support for renationalisation, respectively.Due to lasting sometimes over a decade, full renationalisation would take years unless compensation was paid to terminate contracts early.When the infrastructure-owning company ceased trading in 2002, the set up the not-for-dividend company to take over the duties rather than renationalise this part of the network.
However, in September 2014, Network Rail was reclassified as a central government body, adding around £34 billion to public sector net debt. This reclassification had been requested by the to comply with ESA10.The has committed to bringing the railways 'back into public ownership' and has maintained this impetus when other parties argued to maintain the status quo. In 2016, Green MP, put forward a that would have seen the rail network fall back into public ownership step by step, as franchises come up for expiry.Under, the has pledged to gradually renationalise British Rail franchises if elected, as and when their private contracts expire, creating a 'People's Railway'. Parodies In 1989, the Sketch Show parodied 's 1988 British Rail, Britain's Railway advert on the plans of the then to the railways featuring many of the show's puppets (including the show's portrayal of ), numerous BR trains and landmarks and even a cardboard cutout of. See also History.Divisions, brands and liveries. – BR's sea division.Classification and numbering schemes.Rolling stock.Other.References.
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