British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport on the Mainland from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies, and was privatised 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 January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board.
The period of nationalisation saw sweeping changes in the railway. A process of dieselisation and electrification took place, and by 1968 steam locomotives had been entirely replaced by diesel and electric traction, except for the Vale of Rheidol Railway (a narrow-gauge tourist line). Passengers replaced freight as the main source of business, and one third of the network was closed by the Beeching cuts of the 1960s in an effort to reduce rail subsidies.
On privatisation, responsibility for track, signalling and stations was transferred to Railtrack (which was later brought under public control as Network Rail) and that for trains to the train operating companies.
The British Rail Double Arrow logo was formed of two interlocked arrows showing the direction of travel on a double track 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 is still printed on railway tickets as part of the Rail Delivery Group's jointly managed National Rail brand.
History with Sodor[]
British Railways' biggest appearance in The Railway Series is in the form of diesel engines who come on trial, some of which misbehaved, got embarrassed, failed, or were rude. This was not always the case however, as helpful diesels have also arrived over the years. These include Daisy, BoCo, Bear, the Works Diesel, and Pip and Emma, all of which are now owned by the North Western Railway.
Steam engines from other regions of British Railways have also appeared or transferred to Sodor over the years. Toby and Henrietta arrived from the Eastern Region in 1951, Duck from the Western Region in 1955, and Donald and Douglas transferring from the Scottish Region in 1959. The latter rescued Oliver, Isabel and Toad after being withdrawn by the Western Region in 1967, who were still in their former British Railways liveries. On occasion, steam engines from other regions of British Railways also made appearances, such as Jinty, Pug, and the Big City Engine.
The first mention of British Railways was in The Eight Famous Engines, when Gordon, Duck, and the Big City Engine got into an argument over which station serves London (Each having never been on the other companies' lines, thought that theirs was the only station; when, in fact, there are over ten, thus leading to an argument over which station was in London; King's Cross, Paddington, or Euston).
The North Western Railway's main line connects with a line from British Railways just over the Vicarstown Bridge to the Mainland. For many years the Express was hauled by British Railways engines from Barrow to London, but in recent years it has been worked by the North Western Railway owned Pip and Emma throughout its journey.
In Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine, Percy thought that British Railways was being cruel to steam engines, as on the Mainland they were being scrapped to make way for diesels. The Rev. W. Awdry noted this in the foreword, and cleared up the confusion that the controllers of British Railways actually supported the burgeoning preservation movement.
Trivia[]
- The names "British Rail", "BR" or "British Railways" were not used in The Railway Series until the two final books. This was most likely done to prevent trademark infringement since BR still existed at the time. However, BR crests and logos were accurately illustrated on engines from "The Other Railway" such as Jinty and Pug.
