News from the South of France. This post is almost entirely a translation of a recent article in French in TPBM (Travaux Publics & Batiments du Midi) Press. [1]

Back in January 2019, major work on the Chemins de fer de Provence line was started only to be marred one month later by the death of a worker following the collapse of part of the railway tunnel at Moriez. [2]  Work on the tunnel was inevitably delayed as a result of the accident and the overall work programme on the line has had to be adjusted.

The authorities are investing significant sums in necessary maintenance work which is now programmed to run until 2022. Expenditure will exceed €59.5 million.

Closure of the tunnel at Moriez has meant that all traffic between Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence along the line has been halted. This has meant that Le Train des Pignes has also been prevented from providing a tourist service on the route.

There has been a significant worry for many in the valleys served by the railway and among those with a commitment to the Train des Pignes that the necessary repairs to the tunnel after its collapse would prove prohibitive. The good news is that the authorities have not found further major structural problems with the tunnel, nor along the length of the line. They have recently confirmed that work priorities remain as originally intended.

A spokesperson said that ” Inspections did not reveal any unfavourable evolution of pathologies requiring a change in priorities. Structures are monitored regularly: monthly visits, annual inspections, detailed inspections every five to seven years.”

Work  on the line has continued since inspections were undertaken. ….. Progress has be good!

A little over a year after the tragedy at Moriez, the renovation of the track in 14 stations and on different sections over 12 km has been carried out, the platforms of 16 stopping points have been renovated and made accessible. The old depot at Saint-André-les-Alpes has been restored and the tunnels at La Mescla, La Colle-Saint-Michel and Chabrières have been reinforced. Four level crossings have also been automated.

Going forward, the four areas affected by the bad weather in November will be repaired during this Spring. The first of these will start at the end of February. The dikes and other engineering structures will be consolidated. 

Repairs to the Moriez tunnel are on-going and are scheduled for completion in the summer.

The stations at Puget-Théniers, Entrevaux, Annot, Thorame and Saint-André-les-Alpes will be renovated and their forecourts redeveloped. Four new stops will also be made accessible.

Although the Chemin de fer de Provence line has been heavily impacted by the weather in recent months, the Region “is committed to carrying out the work that will enable the line to be reopened” without announcing a specific date.

On average, Le Train des Pignes used to carry 400,000 passengers a year between Nice and Digne-les-Bains. For the time being, shuttle buses run between Digne-les-Bains and Plan de Var until the railway line is fully restored.

References

1. https://www.tpbm-presse.com/595-millions-d-euros-pour-faire-circuler-a-nouveau-le-train-des-pignes-3451.html?fbclid=IwAR0pdkw-iYw9Sw8tjeeczD5LuYrXw3V5CPfFYVfikUS-hQ-BdRgjY0fiNeA

2. http://www.hauteprovenceinfo.com/article-24385-effondrement-d-un-tunnel-ferroviaire-a-moriez-retour-sur-cet-accident-qui-a-coute-la-vie-a-un-ouvrier.html

Pilling Station was the most westerly point on the Garstang and Knott End Railway from the completion of the first phase of its construction in 1870 until the eventual construction of the line through to Knott End in 1908. [1] It was actually placed in the hamlet of Stakepool around a mile from Pilling itself.

As noted in the previous article about the line, locomotives had to cross into the road junction at the West end of the station site in order to run round their trains. [2] The station site was approximately as drawn on the adapted OS Map extract below. [3]The bridge over Pilling Water, in the bottom right of the map extract, was originally of a timber construction but was already giving cause for concern in 1877 and repairs were undertaken. Good facilities at the station were limited to two sidings without any shed. All transfers between road and rail would have taken place in the open-air. The passenger facilities were limited to one platform  with a wooden shed. The covered facilities on the platform were probably not present when the line opened in 1870 but may well have been in place by 1874. Richardson tells us that the wooden structure was augmented by a brick structure in 1903, which provided “a booking hall together with waiting rooms and toilet facilities for both sexes. The contractor was Johnathan Collinson of Nateby. …. Photographic evidence suggests that the old wooden hut was retained, perhaps as a storeroom and simply moved a little further down the platform.” [2: p72]

When the line was extended to Knott End, Pilling Station was improved and extended but the station building itself, being relatively new, was left in place. The revised station plan can be seem in the unaltered OS Map extract below [3] The most southerly of the lines leaving the East end of the station yard is a head shunt for the goods yard. It was of a quite significant length. Signlas and signal cabin were installed with the extension of the line. The station yard is, in the 21st century, still essentially as it was less the sidings themselves. The site is screened for the road junction to the West of the station by a relatively modern house sitting across the old running lines. The station-house or crossing keepers cottage remains in place. My picture below the map illustrates the view from the road junction.Looking East into what was the railway station site from the old level crossing location (24th January 2020).The satellite image above shows the old station site in the 21st century. Piling Water can just be made out to the right of the image. Without transgressing into what is now a private site it is impossible to establish what, if anything, remains of the old station site. The long narrow building to the North of the yard in the satellite should not be confused with the old station building. It is on the North side of the old line.

The adjacent picture shows Pilling Station from the East end of the platforms after the loop had been lifted. [6]

The picture below comes from the early to mid-1970s and shows Pilling Station Site after closure of the railway. [5]

Pilling Station Site in the mid-1970s. (Lancaster City Museum.) [5]

Further east, the line continued on an East-Southeast trajectory passing South of Crawley’s Cross (North of the Farm by the same name), on through a short platform which can be picked out on the fourth map extract below. Richardson tells us that this is “Cockerham Crossing Halt or Cockerham Cross as it is recorded in some documents. This was undoubtedly the most remote spot served by the railway as there is no village or hamlet nearby, merely a scattering of farms. It was situated where the line was crossed by a farm road, which still runs from Crawley Cross Farm, northwards across, Cockerham Moss to Moss Edge Farm. However, for passengers alighting at this halt, it was only a relatively short walk to the Garstang to Pilling Road.” [2: p70]Beyond Cockerham Crossing Halt it was only a relatively short distance along the line across to the North of Cogie Hill Farm and into Cogie Hill Halt. The second and third map extracts below shoe the location of Cogie Hill Halt and the old Litter Works, both on the North side of Island Lane.This picture from Google Streetview looks West along Island Lane. The red line shows the approximate route of the Garstang to Knott End Railway. The halt would have been on the right of the picture, North of the lane. The Litter Works are clearly no more and were already disused at the time the OS Map was drawn. The Crossing Keeper’s Cottage dominates the left side of the photograph.Looking East along Island Lane towards Garstang, the Crossing Keeper’s Cottage is another typical example of these buildings on this line. It has been extended to make an effective modern dwelling (24th January 2020).This stunning picture shows Cogie Hill Crossing while still in use. The Black 5 in the picture is bringing it’s train from Pilling to the mainline tender first. The crossing cottage appears to the left of the image again. The guard is operating the gates to allow the passage of the train. (The photographer is not known: used with permission Knott End Collection: Railscot). From 1908 until the termination of passenger services in 1930 there was a request halt at this location [4]The same cottage in the early to mid-1970s. Interestingly, the fence in this image is still present in the 21st century. This image is included courtesy of Lancaster City Museum. [5]

The line continues Southeast from Cogie Hill towards Nateby Station. The next few OS Map extracts show this next length of the line. It travelled across open fields until it reached the crossing on Station Lane immediately West of Nateby Station.Google Streetview has this view back along the old line, looking North West towards Pilling.Looking South-East from Station Lane into what was the site of Nateby Station. A bungalow has been built over what were the passenger facilities. The old Station site boundary is marked by the hedges.

Nateby Station was a some distance North of the Village. In the 21st century, the site is now wholly owned and used by Brough Construction Limited. Google Streetview shows two residential properties on the site of the passenger facilities.Google Earth gives an overall impression of the site in the 21st century.Nateby Station site in the 21st century (Google Earth)

Continuing towards Garstang the old line reverted to an East-Southeast alignment.Then just before it crossed the Lancaster Canal it turned through East to an East-Northeasterly alignment. The bridge across the Canal “was a plate girder bridge with a clear span of 70 feet, with rolled steel joists, cross girders and a diagonal timber flooring. … The abutments were of brick. When the LMS surveyed the railway in 1923, the civil engineer was almost complementary in his report, remarking that additional joists had been put in and that the bridge was now up to the strength required for the engines used on the line.” [2: p67]Looking East along the alignment of the old railway line towards the remaining piers on the West side of the Lancaster Canal (Bob Jenkins). [8]The same West abutment of the old railway bridge over the Lancaster Canal (Bob Jenkins). [7]The satellite image above contrasts significantly with the OS Map above it. The area between the Canal and Nateby Crossing Lane has been developed as a Marina for the Canal.Looking West from Nateby Crossing towards the Lancaster Canal along the line of the old railway in 2009 (Google Streetview). Richardson points out that the land to the North of the line (the right side of the above picture) was at one time a brickworks with its own siding. [2: p66-67]The same view in 2020. There is now a children’s playground over the line of the old railway (24th January 2020).The Crossing Keeper’s Cottage at Nateby Crossing Lane (now Croston Road) in the early 1970s (Lancaster City Museum). [5]Looking East along the line of the old railway in 2009 (Google Streetview).Looking East from the site of Nateby Crossing in 2020. The crossing keeper’s cottage is still in place although the render visible in 2009 is now painted white. (24th January 2020).

The line continued East-Southeast from Nateby Crossing to Garstang Station. A by-pass to the town of Garstang was built in the mid-20th century (A6 – Preston Lancaster New Road) and crossed the old line at high-level on a bridge.Looking West from the A6 towards Nateby Crossing. The route of the old line can still be seen across the fields (Google Streetview). Hedging means that it is not possible to show a worthwhile view looking towards Garstang Station at this point on the A6.

Immediately before the station the old railway line crossed Back Lane (now Croston Lane) on the level. The crossing keeper’s cottage was to the South-East of the Crossing, just inside the Station site and across the running line from the engine shed. It appears on the right-hand side of the second map extract below.The Station was rebuilt in 1908 when the line was extended to Knott End. It is the rebuilt station that is shown on the OS Map extract above. The earlier station is shown in the map extract below to approximately the same scale.Garstang Station in 1890. [12]

The railway station site has all been built over. In the 21st century it is covered by a modern housing estate as the satellite image below shows. The path of the main running line is shown by the red line.Looking West along the route of the old line from Back Lane in the 21st century (Google Streetview).Looking East into the old Station site in the 21st century from Back Lane (Google Streetview). All evidence of the station has been lost.

Unsurprisingly, as Garstang was the major town on the line, its station was the major intermediate station between the LNWR/LMS main line and Knott End. There are also a significant number of pictures available on the internet of the old station and its site. The original station built for the first branch line which ran as far as Pilling was a less sophisticated affair.Garstang Town railway station taken about 1900, it was rebuilt in 1909 (Lancashire Post). [9]An old grainy photo showing the first locomotive of the Garstang & Knot End Railway at Garstang Town around 1871. (The photographer is not known: used with permission Knott End Collection: Railscot) Railscot comments, “This was Hebe, a Manning Wardle 0-4-2ST and when the line opened in December 1870 it was their only locomotive. After more than a year of continuous use it broke down, leading to financial problems for the G&KER and Hebe being repossessed. The line closed in 1872 but reopened in 1875 with two new locomotives, Manning Wardle 0-4-0ST Union and Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST Farmers Friend, which had a piercing whistle and became unofficially known as The Pilling Pig.” [13]Work on Garstang station nearing completion in 1909 (Lancashire Post). [9]Locomotive Blackpool which served the Garstang to Knott End line in 1909 hitched to the American style carriages built for the holiday makers (Lancashire Post). [9]Garstang Town Engine Shed. (The photographer is not known: used with permission Knott End Collection: Railscot) [13]

Interestingly, the old engine shed is still is use but was moved from the old station site in the 1970s. This fact was picked up by ‘Railscot’. Mark Bartlett comments that, “It was dismantled in the late 1970s and removed a few hundred yards from its original site for re-use by a livestock haulier. Originally a two road shed it was modified when rebuilt with a single end door seen [below] and a new side entrance (added) but uses the same frame, wall panels and roof. Photographed on private land with kind permission of the owner (who as a young man had helped with the shed removal from the old station).” [14] It should be noted that access to the land is solely at the discretion of the landowner who should be asked for permission prior to access onto the land.View of the barn (old engine shed) from the West in 2017 (Mark Bartlett). [13]A view of the barn (old engine shed) from the South close to the road entrance to the haulier’s site in 2017 (Mark Bartlett). [13]View from Croston Barn Lane (Google Streetview). The old engine shed can be seen above the black estate car in the picture. (Please note: access beyond the gate to the site requires prior permission from the landowner).Black 5 45438 undertakes some leisurely shunting at Garstang Town station, probably in the 1950s judging by the amount of traffic still being carried on this, by now, goods only line. (The photographer is not known: used with permission Knott End Collection: Railscot). Mark Bartlett comments: “This view, taken from the end of the island platform, looks east towards the WCML. The old GKER carriage sheds were still standing at this time, albeit trackless. The large house in the background, Beech Mount, is still on Lancaster Rd in Garstang today.” [13]A goods train going through Garstang station in the 1950s (Lancashire Post) (The photographer is not known: used with permission Knott End Collection: Railscot). [9][13]A view of Garstang Town station, probably from the early 1960s. (The photographer is not known: used with permission Knott End Collection: Railscot). Mark Bartlett comments: “The distinctive narrow station building with the slightly wider signal box at the far end … is on the island platform, which in passenger carrying days was accessed by a footbridge. Beyond and to the right is the old GKER engine shed, later dismantled and rebuilt nearby as a farm building. Straight ahead is the water tower with the small goods shed on the left.” [13]Black 5 45070 enters Garstang Town station on 13th August 1959 with a single brake-van. (The photographer is not known: used with permission Knott End Collection: Railscot). Mark Bartlett comments: “Taken nearly thirty years after passenger services finished, this photo clearly shows the very unusual signal box at Garstang, which was on the island platform but at right angles to the tracks. The signal box was wider than the main station building, although it shared the roof profile, allowing a view to the east for the signalman.” [13]The Good Shed at Garstang Town Station at or around closure of the line. The picture is taken facing East, reproduced with permission from ‘Apollo’ on RMWeb, (R.L. Hill).  [14]A general view of the Station from the Northwest at or around closure of the line, reproduced with permission from ‘Apollo’ on RMWeb, (R.L. Hill). [14]A view East along the main running line close to closure. The sidings serving the carriage sheds seem to have been lifted, reproduced with permission from ‘Apollo’ on RMWeb, (R.L. Hill). [14]The water tower at Garstang. The old engine shed is visible on the right-hand side of the picture. The crossing keeper’s cottage appears to have been removed but the Back Lane crossing gates are still in evidence, reproduced with permission from ‘Apollo’ on RMWeb, (R.L. Hill). [14]The view from the East into the station site at or around closure. The old carriage sheds intrude into the picture of the right. the goods shed is centre-left and the passenger facilities centre-right, reproduced with permission from ‘Apollo’ on RMWeb, (R.L. Hill). [14]The abandoned site of Garstang Station in the mid-1970s (Lancaster City Museum). [5]

The next couple of images show the East end of the station Site in the 21st century.This delightful back garden fills the full width of the station site to the West of the High Street (Google Streetview)Looking ahead to the East from Garstang High Street from the location of the erstwhile railway bridge. The house which just intrudes into the picture on the right is Beech Mount which has been mentioned above (Google Streetview).  The access road provides a private access route to water treatment and flood defence facilities.The length of the line from Garstang High Streeet to the River Wyre Bridge. I have not as yet been able to find any good quality pictures of the old plate girder bridge over Garstang High Street. [3]This aerial image from 1929 comes from the website ‘Britain From Above’ The bridge at the East end of the Station site can just be picked out at the centre-top of the photograph. The detail is not great but it is possible to make out the River Wyre Bridge on the top-right of the image as well. [28]This is a much enlarged view of the top of the aerial photograph. The bridge is at the center of the image. Beech Mount can be seen to the right of the bridge. The station access road and footpath are on the left of the bridge. Lancaster Road (now High Street) at this point dipped down under the railway to provide reasonable clearance for road vehicles. [28]Beyond the station to the East, the railway continued in an easterly direction to cross the River Wyre. This is the view back along the line from a point to the West of the river bridge towards the old station site at or around closure. The house to the left of the image is Beech Mount which still survives in the 21st century, reproduced with permission from ‘Apollo’ on RMWeb, (R.L. Hill). [14]The River Wyre Bridge in 1929. [28]

The River Wyre Bridge on the old line immediately prior to closure, reproduced with permission from ‘Apollo’ on RMWeb, (R.L. Hill). [14]The view East across the River Wyre bridge along the old line towards the LNWR/LMS mainline, reproduced with permission from ‘Apollo’ on RMWeb, (R.L. Hill). [14]The route of the old line to the East of Garstang High Street. The bridge over the Wyre was reconstructed for vehicular access for water treatment purposes (Google Earth). The image below looks back along the line towards Garstang station and shows the water defence and treatment work undertaken. (Railscot: Mark Bartlett). [13]The old line continued Eastwards from the Wyre Bridge. It was initially on embankment as it dropped at 1:125 towards the LNWR/LMS mainline. [2: p63] There was a cattle creep around 2/3rds of the way along the embanked section of track. The old line then entered a cutting passing under a public footbridge before turning to the south to run alongside the LNWR/LMS mainline close to Taylor’s Bridge.The section of cutting before the old line curved to the South (Railscot: Mark Bartlett). [13]

From Taylor’s Bridge the branch trundled alongside the mainline, under Turner’s Bridge and then under Bailton’s Bridge before eventually reaching Garstang and Catterall Station.

The first photograph below shows the point at which the Garstang and Knott End Railway converged with the mainline just to the South of Taylor’s Bridge. A red line shows the route of the line emerging from what, in the 21st century, is a heavily wooded cutting and then running parallel to the mainline. [19]

The combined railway formation was in cutting for much of the length South from Taylor’s Bridge. It was crossed at intervals by accommodation bridges (Turner’s Bridge and Bailton’s Bridges) leading between fields on each side of the line. These bridges, Richardson tells us, were extended to accommodate the branch line and their two separate spans are still visible for the M6 motorway. [2: p63]

Since the middle of the 20th Century, the M6 has run parallel to the mainline only a few tens of metres to the East. The construction of the motorway meant that the accommodation bridge crossings had to be significantly extended Eastward.

Typical of these new bridges and their slender simply-supported reinforced concrete deck and steel beam construction is Turner’s Bridge which is shown in the second colour image below. [20].

Wikipedia tells us that “Garstang and Catterall railway station served as the interchange between the Garstang and Knot-End Railway and the London and North Western Railway. … The station was in the parish of Barnacre-with-Bonds, close to the village of Catterall, adjacent to the Lancaster Canal, and opposite the Kenlis Arms Pub.

This station was on the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway (now part of the West Coast Main Line) between Preston and Lancaster.” [18]

Wikipedia says of the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway Company (L&PJR) that it  “was created by Act of Parliament on 5 May 1837, to link the towns of Preston and Lancaster. The company planned to build its Preston terminus at Dock Street (off Pitt Street), near the Lancaster Canal, in the expectation that the rival North Union Railway (NUR) line from Wigan would have its terminus close by. In fact, the North Union built its station 200 yards (200 m) away, just south of Fishergate, in what seems to have been a tactical move to get the L&PJR to contribute towards the cost of a short tunnel and connecting line between the two railways. This marked the start of protracted feuding between the two companies for years to come. Eventually a deal was struck for the L&PJR to use the North Union station.

The Lancaster terminus was on the modern-day South Road, just south of the Lancaster Canal and the southern end of Penny Street.

The line was twenty miles (32 km) long and built by Joseph Locke. [21] It opened on 25 June 1840, with a passenger service from the following day.” [22]

The Lancaster & Preston Junction Railway was amalgamated into the Lancaster & Carlisle Railway in 1859 and the Lancaster & Carlisle Railway was leased to the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), which later absorbed it in 1879.

So, Garstang & Catterall Station opened on 26 June 1840, [15] originally named Garstang Station. [16] Eventually, it was the last of the stations between Preston and Lancaster to close, on 3rd February 1969. [17].

The station was built on embankment above the surrounding land. It was flanked to the West by the Lancaster Canal and to the East by the Kenlis Arms Hotel. The main station buildings were at high level across Kenlis Road from the Kenlis Arms Hotel. They were quite substantial, about 125 ft long and 20 feet deep. Richardson points out that they were built in 1872-1873 as part of a general upgrading of the station facilities  following the opening of the Garstang and Knott End Railway. [2: p63]

The station buildings were separated from the stationmaster’s house by a gap of around 8ft. Rush and Price say that the stationmaster’s house was a most peculiar building It “had apparently no chimneys, and the occupants went downstairs to bed, since the living room and door were on platform level and the other rooms beneath. There was no access from the street.” [23: p43]

The Garstang & Knott End Railway had no connection to the mainline North of the Junction station. Rush and Price tell us that the “only direct connection with the LNWR was in the goods yard, a short distance South of the station, whence the line ran along the outer face of the down platform, which was an island.” [23: p39]

Locomotives were unable to run round their trains while in the platform. ” A short loop opposite the Signal Box provided the run round facilities for Knott End trains.” [23: p39]

Since the station closed in 1969, the stationmaster’s house has become a private dwelling and appears relatively little altered in appearance.Taylor’s Bridge in the 21st century looking to the Northwest, showing the old branch-line entering the cutting of the mainline just South of the Bridge and running parallel with the mainline. The old Garstang and Catterall Station was about 1 miles south of the location of Taylor’s Bridge. [19]Turner’s Bridge over the M6 in 2012 (Creative Commons Licence (Anthony Parkes)). [20]The Kenlis Arms Hotel in the 21st century with the remaining stationmaster’s house beyond. [24]A similar view from the time the branch-line and station were in use early in the 20th century. In this view, the stationmaster’s house is hidden behind the hotel. [24]A much more recent image of the stationmaster’s house in private hands (Mark Bartlett). [25]

The following images appear on the RMWeb Forum [14], on the Railscott website [25] on Flickr [26][27], and are reproduced with permission.A steam-powered (Black 5) ‘up’ goods entering Garstang and Catterall Station on the mainline. The picture is taken from the island platform (R.L. Hill). [14]A similar picture, this time on David Price’s Flickr feed and taken from the station footbridge (David Price). [26]Clan Class Steam Locomotive in charge of a northbound express on the mainline through Garstang and Catterall Station in the late 1950s or early 1960s. The two views immediately below are taken from the footbridge seen in this picture (R.L. Hill) [14]An overview of Garstang and Catterall Station looking North. The Lancaster Canal was in very close proximity to the Station on the West side of the down platform. The branch-line runs from the west side of the island platform and along the west side of the mainline to the North (R.L. Hill). [14]A similar view in diesel days probably taken at around the same time as the picture above, both being taken from the station footbridge. The locomotive in this picture carried the number D305 (R.L. Hill). [14]A Branch goods appears to have just arrived from Pilling (Railscot: Mark Bartlett). Railscot comments: “An unidentified LMS 8F 2-8-0 shunting alongside the old G&KER platform at Garstang & Catterall station. This view looks north from the station footbridge with the Lancaster Canal visible to the left of the steam plume. The main goods yard was behind the camera but the Creamery alongside the Up line also used rail for many years. The line immediately to the left of the main running lines beyond the island platform was the old link to the Knott End branch, which also later formed a long Down goods loop for the main line.” [25]A 1971 image of the Station Signal box to the south of the station (Railscot: Mark Bartlett).  Railscot comments: “The new infrastructure for colour light signalling can be seen as D431 approaches Garstang & Catterall on a service for Scotland. The cars are parked in the old goods yard, which is now occupied by a feeder station for the 25kv power supply, the first building of which can be seen in front of the bracket signal. The signal box closed in November 1972 with the commissioning of Preston power box. The station, behind the photographer, had only been closed for three years at this time but had already been demolished and cleared.”  [25]This view looks North from the goods yard opposite the station signal box (David Price). David Price says: “75048 shunts the yard.The quality is not great- I was using a very basic third-hand Halina – but there is some interest with the box and station visible. Note also the very young member of the footplate crew !! I don’t have a date for this but the slide is stamped Dec 67 so it was probably taken in Oct 1967. ” [27]

I have not had the opportunity in this article to look at operations or rolling stock on the line. I hope that I will have time to return to these matters in a future article. I have already been reminded by one reader of the first article about the line of the relatively unusual practice on the line of the pick-up goods both propelling and pulling wagons in the one train so as to make shunting much less time consuming en-route!

References

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garstang_and_Knot-End_Railway, accessed on 28th January 2020.
2. D. Richardson; The Pilling Pig; Cumbrian Railways Association, Amadeus Press, Cleckheaton, 2018.
3. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=18&lat=53.9225&lon=-2.8948&layers=168&b=1, accessed between 29th January 2020 and 7th February 2020.
4. https://www.railscot.co.uk/locations/C/Cogie_Hill, accessed on 1st February 2020.
5. http://www.kingsownmuseum.com/friendsrly.htm, accessed on 1st February 2020.
6. Ribble Pilot; https://issuu.com/ribblesteam/docs/pilot_49_web_version/41; p40, accessed on 2nd February 2020.
7. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1135752, © Copyright Bob Jenkins and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence, accessed on 3rd February 2020.
8. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1135765, © Copyright Bob Jenkins and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence, accessed on 3rd February 2020.
9. https://www.lep.co.uk/news/all-aboard-lancashires-long-lost-railway-656144, accessed on 5th February 2020.
10. https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/reviving-forgotten-lancashire-rail-route-dream-1154369, accessed on 5th February 2020.
11. https://www.gwra.co.uk/auctions/garstang-knot-end-railway-cast-iron-trespass-sign-2019nov-0279.html, accessed on 5th February 2020.
12. https://www3.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/oldmap/towns/garstang, accessed on 6th February 2020.
13. https://www.railscot.co.uk/locations/G/Garstang_Town, accessed on 6th February 2020.
14. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/67100-apollos-grand-days-out/page/2 © Copyright R.L. Hill, accessed on 6th February 2020.
15. R.V.J. Butt; The Directory of Railway Stations; Patrick Stephens, Yeovil, 1995.
16. G. Suggitt; Lost Railways of Lancashire; Countryside Books, Newbury, 2003 revised 2004, p28.
17. M.S. Welch; Lancashire Steam Finale; Runpast Publishing, Cheltenham, 2004, p2.
18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garstang_and_Catterall_railway_station, accessed on 7th February 2020.
19. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Garstang_and_Knot-End_Railway, accessed on 7th February 2020.
20. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3129767, accessed on 7th February 2020.
21. S. Lewis S (ed); “Lambley–Lancaster”, A Topographical Dictionary of England; 1848, p6–17.
22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancaster_and_Preston_Junction_Railway, accessed on 7th February 2020.
23. R.W. Rush & M.R.C. Price; The Garstang and Knott End Railway; Oakwood Press No. 23, Headington, Oxford, 1985.
24. https://twitter.com/btplancs/status/805378977225474048, accessed on 6th February 2020.
25. https://www.railscot.co.uk/locations/G/Garstang_and_Catterall, accessed on 7th February 2020.
26. https://www.flickr.com/photos/144388905@N03/49287457557/in/photolist-2i6n6YZ-2hQ6tqh-QuP2yq-27rPwAA-pinLE6-x7fSyx-xVyKmn-2f3gd1Y-H2uKJJ-AuuxEn-LyGKgj-Dhww3A-99Kbpg-LyGKWC-Mt2MM3-e7VnyK-R972Ce-w6xjLg-bjCmjf-dk32Wp-271b5Bf-dk32Hz-dMVezS-bxxeit-nUG4LY-9qFuHY-U44YAP-eh6FsZ-sD52n6-bxxerp-jz2HSh-egzr3N-smrZCs-e9ewnh-ac3muT-aggKrH-kyHVEy-eiEWyY-MGcg6B-qFy3GY-eiybDs-n3QaoN-qFy3Yu-99HvCg-99Nf7j-poZA2C-99Nfnu-dZAz36-J79khx-dXZHxG, accessed on 8th February 2020.
27. https://www.flickr.com/photos/144388905@N03/31831162260/in/photolist-2hQ6tqh-QuP2yq-pinLE6-xVyKmn-e7VnyK-R972Ce-bjCmjf-dMVezS-bxxeit-nUG4LY-2i6n6YZ-27rPwAA-x7fSyx-2f3gd1Y-H2uKJJ-AuuxEn-LyGKgj-Dhww3A-99Kbpg-LyGKWC-Mt2MM3-w6xjLg-dk32Wp-271b5Bf-dk32Hz-kyHVEy-eiEWyY-eiybDs-9qFuHY-U44YAP-eh6FsZ-sD52n6-bxxerp-jz2HSh-egzr3N-smrZCs-e9ewnh-ac3muT-aggKrH-MGcg6B-qFy3GY-n3QaoN-qFy3Yu-99HvCg-99Nf7j-poZA2C-99Nfnu-dZAz36-J79khx-dXZHxG, accessed on 8th February 2020.
28. https://britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW026412, accessed on 10th February 2020.

The area across the River Wyre from Fleetwood was, for many years, quite isolated. There was a ferry across the river to Fleetwood, which still operates in the 21st century, otherwise, narrow un-metalled roads had to suffice.

The local community, particularly those with agricultural interests, were determined to have a railway. The line was built between Garstang and Pilling by those local agricultural interests to develop unproductive land. It had been intended to continue to Knott End but the company ran out of money. It eventually opened between Garstang and Pilling in 1870. [2]

In 1898 the Knott End Railway was authorised to continue to Knott End; the extension opened in 1908.

Until around the turn of the 20th century the line operated in the control of the receivers having had a couple of years lying dormant as a result of significant overspend during construction. [1: p68] However, by 1908 the line was solvent. [1: p69] For much of the life of the line, it operated as two separate companies but using the same rolling stock. [1: p70]

Enough income was forthcoming to allow a branch to be constructed to serve the Saltworks at Stalmine Moss. [1: p69] Salt extraction became a dominant industry in the area from 1890, ”and the railway conveyed some remarkable tonnages of salt (outward) and coal (inward, for power).” [2]

Ultimately the line did not survive beyond the 1960s. Passenger traffic ceased in the 1930s although Scott-Morgan points out that excursion traffic continued in the summer months. He goes on to say that in 1950, ”British Railways closed the line to goods traffic between Knott End and Pilling. The remainder of the branch was often worked by Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 tender locomotives and, strangely, Stanier Black 5 4-6-0s on four or five wagon goods trains. Final closure came on 31st July 1963, and the track was lifted shortly after.” [1: p70]

I am aware of two books of substance which have been written about the line. The first was initially published by the Oakwood Press in the 1960s. Its most recent incarnation was printed in the mid-1980s. [4]

A much more recent contribution was made by Dave Richardson in his book entitled, ‘The Pilling Pig’. It was published by the Cumbrian Railways Association in 2018. [5]

Dave Richardson was able to unearth more information in the 21st century than R.W. Rush and M.R.C. Price had available to them in the 1960s. Nonetheless, Dave Richardson comments: “Given the limited sources of information and facilities for research available at that time, the [earlier] book represented a considerable achievement.” [5: p5]

Both books provide excellent plans, maps and drawings. I particularly appreciated the colour station plans in Dave Richardson’s book. [5]

Both texts describe the line travelling East to West. I plan to do so from West to East. This is the way in which the line would first have been encountered by holiday-makers from Blackpool and Fleetwood. I guess that the railway prioritised passenger traffic coming over on the ferry from Fleetwood. This is shown by the station facilities at Knott End which were not rivalled by any other station on the line.

The Line

As we have noted, there was a relatively substantial terminus station at Knott End. The extract from the OS 25” Map below shows the station and it’s approaches. [3] The station opened with the line in 1908. It closed to passenger traffic in 1930 and goods traffic in 1950. [2][8]The station is long-gone. Quail Holme Road now extends into an estate of 1960s bungalows. Knott End Cafe sits on the site of the old passenger facilities at the North end of the Station site. It appears to be built on the footprint of the old station building, possibly with an extension at the front.Knott End Cafe.A view of the Cafe building from the Northeast. It seems as though the modern structure was built on the foundations of the old. Older brickwork seems to make up the plinth and a number of courses close to the corners of the building.

A large car park and private housing covers much of the rest of the station area as can be seen in the Google Earth satellite image below.The line left Knott End gradually swinging round to an easterly trajectory. It passed the old Quail Holme which was North of the line and Hackensall Hall to the South of the line, and then crossed Hackensall Road on the level. There was a crossing keepers cottage on the North side of the line.The line crossed Hackensall Road at the point where it became a private access road to Hackensall Hall. The crossing was immediately in front of the location of the modern road signs above (24th January 2020).Looking West along the route of the old railway line (24th January 2020).Looking East along the old line. The route goes through the garden of the last bungalow on Hackensall Road which is built on the site of the old Crossing Keeper’s Cottage. An early postcard showing Hackensack Hall (24th January 2020).A satellite image of Hackensall Hall in the 21st century.

A short distance further on, the old railway crossed Whinney Lane at a level-crossing as well. No keepers cottage was provided here.This extract from Google Earth shows the alignment of the old railway running East-West and crossed by Hackensall Road and the extension of Whinney Lane. This length of the line is now a public right of way. Quail Holme was demolished to make way for the housing estate which is visible on the top left of the satellite image. New New Farm is on the right of the image.

To the East of Whinney Lane and a little beyond New Hey Farm a private siding used to exist which for a time provided excellent income for the line. The siding served Preesall Salt Mines. The mines were owned by the United Alkali Co. Ltd and traffic from the mines was marshalled in the sidings at Knott end before transporting across the railway network. The siding opened in 1912. [4: p22] As a result of this traffic the line was solvent for a number of years. Sadly with the advent of the First World War mist of the income was taken by the Government. After the war, the line was included in the LMS estate and under its watch the LMS managed to upset the United Alkali Co. in negotiations over cartage rates. The result was that, in 1925, the United Alkali Co. installed a pipeline under the River Wyre to another of their sites on the outskirts of Fleetwood (Burn Naze) and terminated their arrangement with the railway company. [4: p25] It seems as though the siding remained in place until 1934. The OS Map extract below [3] shows the mineral railway which remained for a time linking the mine, the jetty at the Wyre and the pumping station south of the village of Preesall. Evidence of the link to the Garstang and Knott End line had disappeared by the time surveys were undertaken for the OS Map. Dave Richardson provides a map of its route in his book. [5: p95]Interestingly, a pumping station from the Preesall Salt Mines and its associated boreholes remain evident to the Northeast of Preesall Station on another OS Map extract from the same series below .

Parrox Hall was then passed to the North of the line, with Curwens Hill Farm to the South. Parrox Hall is one of the oldest family homes in Lancashire with a history stretching back at least 600 years. [7]Parrox Hall.By the time that trains passed under the road bridge into Preesall Station they were travelling due East. The road bridge was expensive to construct. Given that it is the only structure over the line and given the extensive embankments required, it may well have been better for the line if an at-grade crossing had been used. The next two OS Map extracts below show the track layout, and the satellite images show the site in the 21st century.The village of Preesall was to the South of the Station. It and the station are shown in the OS Map extract immediately below as they were in the early 20th century, and on the satellite image as they are in the early 21st century.Preesall Station opened in 1908 , lost its passenger service in 1930 and finally closed to all traffic in 1950. [8] A passing loop was provided on the North side of the main line by 1910. [5: p74] A two-track goods yard was on the South side of the line.

The station access road is shown in the picture below as it was on 24th January 2020.The goods facilities are now redeveloped as an egg-packing plant.An egg-packing plant now occupies the site of the old station’s goods yard. The main running line of the old railway followed what is now a line of large trees behind the factory. The view above is taken from Google Streetview.Looking West back along the formation of the old line towards Knott End from the B5377 (24th January 2020).This view from Google Streetview shows the B5377 looking Southeast in the 21st century towards what was the crown of the road over the railway bridge. The opening in the hedge to the right of the image is the footpath down to rail level. The footpath extends in a Westerly direction towards Knott End.The footpath runs down a slope to join the original rail formation (24th January 2020).

The RAILSCOT website has a series of five pictures from this location which are copyright protected and which are worth viewing on their site. [9]

The small lake on the North side of the line is what remains of the gravel pit excavated by the contractor during the construction of the line. This was used to supply ballast to the work undertaken on the extension between Pilling and Knott End. Dave Richardson notes that the “station had the dubious distinction of languishing in a semi-completed state from January 1890 until work recommenced in the extension at the end of 1907.” [5: p73]This panorama shows the small lake which was on the North side of Preesall Station and the station site itself. The old mainline and loop are now heavily covered in trees (24th January 2020).

Preesall station’s two goods sidings came directly off the main line with no headshunt. “One ran behind the passenger platform to serve a small goods shed and loading bank. The 1923 LMS report says that the shed was built of timber, but photographs show that it was of … corrugated iron construction, probably wood-framed and on a brick base. The loading bank was equipped with a crane having a capacity of two-tons.” [5: p 74]

The next crossing was at Sandy Lane, shown on the OS Map below.The Crossing Keeper’s Cottage was on the North side of the line, West of Sandy Lane.The old line continued East from Sandy Lane across what are, in the 21st century, open fields.The line passed South of Bourbles Farm and on toward Green Dick’s Lane.The Crossing Keeper’s Cottage was once again to the Northwest of the Level Crossing. The road crossed the old line at a sharp angle as can be seen on the OS Map extract above. The cottage is own in the Google Streetview image below.On my visit in January 2020 the skies were more leaden but the two images below look back along the line towards Knott End to the West, and forward in the direction of Pilling and Garstang to the East.This picture looks West along the side of what was the crossing keeper’s cottage but gives very little idea other route of the old line to the West. (24th January 2020).Taken from a point slightly to the South of the previous image, this picture allows a glimpse back down the route of the old line (24th January 2020).This final image at the location of Green Dick’s Crossing looks East. The old line passed through the trees to the left of the open gate (24th January 2020).

From Green Dick’s Crossing the line continued in a generally easterly direction, crossing first Lamb’s Lane and then Carr Lane Crossing.At Lamb’s Lane the crossing keeper’s cottage was to the Southeast of the Crossing.The building on the site of the old crossing keeper’s cottage at Lamb’s Lane (24th January 2020).Looking back West along the old line from the site of Lamb’s Lane Crossing (24th January 2020).Looking East along the route of the old line. The modern gates will be a couple of metre a east of the old crossing gates (24th January 2020).At Carr Lane the Cottage was to the Northeast of the Crossing.The Cottage was a substantial older brick structure which appears to have been extended in good-keeping with the original structure. The old line passed to the right of the modern garage (24th January 2020).Looking West from Carr Lane. The formation of the old line is approximately under the plastic wrapped bales in the picture. The house just visible on the right was built long after the closure of the line (24th January 2020).

Beyong Carr Lane the old line gradually swung round from an East-Northeast alignment to a East-Southeast alignment, passing to the North of Fold Houses and approaching Pilling.Pilling Station was the one time terminus of the line. Finances initially only permitted construction from the West Coast mainline as far as Pilling. For the last years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century, locomotives ran round their trains at Pilling and in doing so blocked the road junction to the West of the station.

The Crossing Keeper’s Cottage was to the Southeast of the crossing.One of the early locomotives on the Garstang to Knott End line. This is either Hope or Farmers’ Friend at Pilling about 1890. [10]The saddle tank in the picture above has been called ‘The Pilling Pig’, the wooden model has been called ‘The Piglet’. They are sited to the West of the site of The level crossing at Pilling. [11]  They stand at the entrance to the Fold House caravan park. The saddle tank is ex-NCB Mountain Ash Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST No 1885 of 1955. It took three days to be transported to the site by road in 2001, was lifted into position over the trees and then restored and named Pilling Pig. [12]The Fold House Caravan Park is in the top left of the satellite image. The old line ran through the modern caravan park. The old station site is on the right side of the image. The old level-crossing is about a third into the image from the right of the picture.This loco was used on the line. It was a Saddle Tank and so has some similarity to the locomotive on display at the entrance to the caravan park. It is Farmer’s Friend (or “Pilling Pig”), an 1875 Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST and the third locomotive on the line.

The road crossing at the West end of Pilling Station. The original branch terminated here with the headshunt for passenger locos at the station crossing the road junction. The crossing keeper’s cottage can be seen on the South side of the line on the East side of the road junction on the above map.

We finish this leg of the journey from Knott End to the West Coast mainline with a view looking across the location of the old level crossing into the old station site.Looking East into the site of Pilling Station. A house has been built over the old line. The Crossing Keeper’s Cottage is still present on the right hand side of the photograph (24th January 2020).

References

1. John Scott-Morgan; British Independent Light Railways; p68-70.

2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garstang_and_Knot-End_Railway, accessed on 1st January 2020.

3. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.178395503900667&lat=53.9271&lon=-2.9956&layers=168&b=1, accessed from 2nd January 2020 to 26th January 2020.

4. R.W. Rush & M.R.C. Price; The Garstang and Knott End Railway; Oakwood Press No. 23, Headington, Oxford, 1985.

5. D. Richardson; The Pilling Pig; Cumbrian Railways Association, Amadeus Press, Cleckheaton, 2018.

6. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F372660735333, accessed on 22nd January 2020.

7. http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/life-inside-lancashire-s-oldest-family-home-1-9317599, accessed on 21st January 2020.

8. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preesall_railway_station, accessed on 22nd January 2020.

9. https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/63/448, accessed on 22nd January 2020.

10. https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/reviving-a-forgotten-lancashire-rail-route-dream-1-8379821, accessed on 28th January 2020.

11. https://www.picturesofengland.com/England/Lancashire/Pilling/pictures/latest

12. https://redrosecollections.lancashire.gov.uk/view-item?i=236766&WINID=1580218325907#.XjA31R7Lc0M

13. http://www.cumbrianrailways.org.uk/pillingpig.php

We all know that nationalisation of the UK’s railways took place on 1st January 1948.

It is interesting to ask when the idea was first promoted. There were, after all, two periods of effective nationalisation prior to 1948. Both of the two world wars saw UK railways under government control. ……….

So, was the idea of nationalisation first thought of in the preparations for the major conflict which was looming in the early part of the 20th century?

When conflict was declared on 4th August 1914, the Railway Executive Committee, which had been formed in 1912 as an intermediary between Government and the 120 private railway companies, moved swiftly to take control of the network. Within 24 hours of the start of the conflict, the Committee used the powers of the Regulation of the Forces Act 1871 to secure its ascendancy. Direct, day-to-day operations were still the remit of the railway companies but, as Jones explains in ‘The Nation’s Railway‘, “the remuneration for the owners was fixed by the government, which could secure whatever priorities it required for different classes of traffic, a facility with economic as well military significance.” [1: p12] Clearly, this mechanism was already in the mind of the Committee before the start of the conflict.

We know that David Lloyd George was sympathetic to trade union calls for nationalisation of the railway network. He was prime minister from 1916 to 1922. [1: p16] His plan was opposed by Andrew Bonar Law who was the then leader of the Conservative party and followed Lloyd George as prime minister. Bonar Law favoured a grouping of companies into regional monopolies. This was enshrined in the Railways Act 1921 and postponed any thoughts of nationalisation.

Speaking of this time in the development of the railways, Wikipedia tells us that, “during the First World War the railway network was taken under government control and run by the Railway Executive Committee of the Government. This revealed some advantages in running the railways with fewer companies, and after the war it was widely agreed that the required development of the rail network could not be achieved under the conditions that had existed before the war. The nationalisation of the railways, which had been mooted by William Ewart Gladstone as early as the 1830s, was considered, but was rejected by the government and the owners of the rail companies. A compromise was created in the Railways Act 1921. Under this act, almost all of the hundreds of existing rail companies were grouped together into four new companies.” [2]

Back to my question … Was it in the period from 1912 to 1921 that nationalisation was first considered? Or was it earlier?

It appears that the matter was seriously considered much earlier than this. In the midst of the railway mania of the 1840s, it was, surprisingly, the Conservative government of Robert Peel that first proposed nationalisation as a solution to specific problems in the railway industry. The Railway Regulation Act, 1844  was designed to “force the railways to reduce charges in the interests of the whole body of capitalist manufacturers and traders, by holding over their heads the threat of nationalisation.” [1: p8]

W.E. Gladstone

The Act was promoted by W.E. Gladstone, then a Conservative Minister and President of the Board of Trade. He “threatened British railway companies with a state takeover of they did not cut fares for poorer sections of society.” [1: p7]

His threat was the secondary purpose of the 1844 Act. It “enshrined in law the requirement to provide affordable ticket prices for the poorer sections of society, to enable them to travel to find work. … Gladstone’s Act … stipulated that one train with provision for carrying third class passengers, should run on every line, every day, in each direction, stopping at every station, with a fare of no more than a penny a mile and up to 56lb of luggage per passenger carried free of charge. The average speed should be not less than 12mph, and third class passengers should be protected from the weather and be provided with seats.” [1: p8]

Ian McLean asserted, in a paper about the history of regulation in the UK, that “Gladstone’s bill of 1844 was ‘a personal rather than a departmental measure’ and he persevered with it despite the ‘indifference to hostility’ of the rest of the Cabinet … He argued that the need for regulation arose ‘owing to the great and almost unparalleled extent of capital unemployed’ in Britain. Early railways had seemed to be dubious investments. By 1844 they had proved themselves technically and economically and were earning large dividends. Therefore there was a sudden rush to promote new schemes, and the Private Bill Office had more railway bills in hand than ever before. Gladstone did not think that the entry of new railway companies would bring the railway business into competitive equilibrium. Rather, if Parliament were to allow competing routes between the same towns, ‘it would afford facilities to exaction … an increase of the evil, … a mere multiplication of monopoly’ (Hansard 3rd series vol. 72, cols 232-6).” [3]

So, Gladstone proposed, among other things, a power to cap the rates of new railways after a period of years, to a level such that their dividends would be held at 10% of the value of their issued capital, and a power to nationalise any such lines after the same period of time.

The Act’s provision for nationalisation was not invoked. However, it remained as a possibility which the government could use if circumstances were right, or if railway companies failed to deliver on promises made in the future.

It seems as though the events of 1947 and 1948 were part of a long political saga. As we know, those events were in no way the end of the story!

References

1. Robin Jones; The Nation’s Railway: Birth, Beeching and Beyond; Morton’s Media Group, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, 2017. 
2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_Great_Britain_1923%E2%80%931947, accessed on 23rd January 2020.
3. Iain McLean; The origin and strange history of regulation in the UK: three case studies in search of a theory; Paper for ESF/SCSS Exploratory Workshop: The Politics of Regulation, Barcelona, November 2002; https://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/politics/papers/2002/w29/The%20origin%20and%20strange%20history%20of%20regulation%20in%20the%20UK.pdf, accessed on 23rd January 2020.

I have recently purchased the six copies of The Railway Magazine which were issued in 1948. The first of these coincides with the formation of British Railways, and the January/February 1948 issue of the magazine [1] highlights for the readers a little of the history of railways in Britain which led up to that momentous occasion. A copy of the article can be accessed in The Railway Magazine Archive if you do not have an original copy of the Magazine. There is a charge for the service from the publishers of the Railway Magazine over and above a normal subscription.

The Railway Magazine was not alone in seeing the 1st January 1948 as a significant landmark in railway history. The Guardian carried an article on 30th December 1947 which said: “Of all the landmarks in Britain’s railway history, January 1 1948 will probably be outstanding. It is over a hundred years since railway nationalisation was first advocated. Since then enthusiasts for State ownership have never ceased to proclaim the benefits to be obtained, though in 1867 Sir Rowland Hill in a minority report as a member of a Royal Commission on Railways gave a warning of the “undue enlargement of expectation”. The clamour became louder towards the end of last century when the trade unions took it up strongly and after the first world war nationalisation nearly became a fact. Since then the pressure has continued to grow, culminating in the Transport Act of last August which provided for the transfer of the railways to the State on January 1. Thus after more than a century of controversy the decision has been taken.” [2]

That article in the Guardian asserted that: “Originally, the main planks in the argument were private versus public ownership and the effects on production and distribution supported by allegations of railway inefficiency: now the emphasis is placed on coordination of all forms of transport.” Indeed, apart from political dogma, that does seem to have been a significant factor in the decision-making of the time. The article in The Railway Magazine states that on that day: “The four mainline railways, the various joint lines, and those minor railways … under government control since the outbreak of the recent war, pass into the ownership of the British Transport Commission, under the provisions of the Transport Act, of August 6, 1947.” [1: p1] … “The Act provides for setting up bodies called Executives, … to assist the Commission as its agents. … As at present contemplated there will be the following: Railway Executive; London Transport Executive; Docks & Inland Waterways Executive; Road Transport Executive; and (from a date to be fixed) Hotels Executive.” [1: p2]

Interestingly, The Railway Magazine article suggests that the history of public railways in Great Britain up to 1948 (a period of around 150 years) could be divided into a series of eras each about 25 years in duration. [1: p1]

First, a period of horse-operated railways; second, the transition to steam-power; third (1848-1873), an era of competition; fourth, was a time of increased desire on the part of the industry to reduce competition through amalgamation which was not supported by Parliament; fifth (the early 20th century), was largely non-competitive with an increased tendancy towards grouping. [1: p1]

The last quarter-century before 1948 followed the Great War. The government’s outlook was changed by the War. Grouping was imposed by Statute, amalgamating 123 existing companies into the Big 4 of the GWR, The Southern, the LNER and the LMS. [1: p2]T.R. Gourvish, writing in the mid-1980s [6], said: “The origins of some of the difficulties facing nationalised railways when the newly created British Transport Commission took over in January 1948 lie in the inter-war years and, indeed, in the industry’s position before the First World War.” [6: p1] Government intervention in the industry and other factors, from 1900 on, limited railway companies freedom to choose and charge for the traffic they carried:

• A public service obligation was laid on railway companies.
• Labour costs were the subject of government control
• A steadily increasing capital burden.
• Lower and lower operating margins

Interestingly, “Such realities were masked by the railways’ continuing dominance of inland transport and their ability to provide reasonable returns to investment. In 1910-12, for example, the net rate of return on capital raised (excluding nominal additions to capital) averaged 4.23 per cent, and this was much the same as 40 years earlier when interest rates were higher.” [6: p1][7]

Increasingly, after the Great War, and particularly after the years of depression which followed, “the transport environment changed radically. Road transport began to challenge rail successfully in a number of markets, but especially in short-distance passenger and short- and medium-distance freight. Although the railways retained their traditional predominance in the long-distance freight business, even here profits were reduced by the instability and shrinking output of Britain’s staple industries which came with the slump in world trade. Coal output, for example, which had averaged 270 million tons in 1909-13, was 16 per cent lower in the ‘recovery’ years, 1934-8.” [6: p1]

However, these changes were not reflected in any relaxation in government control of pricing and marketing policy. “The Railways Act of 1921 had rejected outright nationalisation in favour of regulated regional monopolies; the four ‘main-line’ railways, the Great Western, London & North Eastern, London Midland & Scottish and Southern, established in 1923, represented the amalgamation of no less than 123 companies. This search for the efficiency believed to be inherent in regulated, large-scale business units marked the end of the government’s faith in inter-railway competition as a protection for consumers.” [6: p2]

Inevitably, “the continued obligation to accept traffic, publish charges, provide a reasonable level of service, avoid ‘undue preference’ in the treatment of customers and submit to government regulation of wages and conditions, left the railways vulnerable to their more flexible and less constrained competitors.” [6: p2]

Gourvish goes on to explain that by 1938, “the main-line companies were pressing vigorously for more equitable treatment. In that year net revenue fell by nearly 25 per cent. Although the trade depression was primarily responsible, the railways put some of the blame on the government’s one-sided control of freight traffic charges. The ‘Square Deal Campaign’, initiated by the ‘Big Four’ railway companies in November, demanded an end to the legal disabilities under which the railways were operating in comparison with the road hauliers – classification, publication of rates, etc. – and the case had been accepted in government circles before the outbreak of war interrupted the legislative programme.” [6: p2]

The Second World War made matters much worse. Railways were “placed under the control of 88the Ministry of Transport (from May 1941 the Ministry of War Transport), but operational management was retained by a Railway Executive Committee of railway managers. An agreement with the government established the basis of payment for traffic carried, but charges were frozen and maintenance and renewal were largely sacrificed to the war effort. The final agreement with the government, reached in September 1941 and back-dated to 1 January, gave the railways a guaranteed net revenue of £43.5 million. The government were to take any surplus earned above this figure, but it was agreed that an accumulating trust fund would be established to meet deferred repairs and renewals. Fares and rates were stabilised at the level of April 1941.”[6: p3][8]

In 1944 the net ton-mileage of freight carried was 50% higher than in 1938, and passenger-mileage was up by 67%. However, these statistics “obscured the underlying realities of the industry’s weakening financial position as wear and tear increased sharply without adequate provision being made for replacement and renewal. When the companies’ net earnings fell from £62.5 million in 1945 to only £32.5 million in 1946, there could be no doubt at all as to the potential severity of the post-war situation.” [6: p3]

Gourvish comments that labour costs had risen during the War by 75% coal by 92% and materials by 83%, yet charges which could be levied by the railway companies were not increased form 1939 until 1946 and then only by between 7 and 14%. However, “whatever the government had decided to do about profits and prices, there would still have remained a serious problem of under-investment as a result of war-time shortages. The companies were probably in a weaker position to initiate early provision for repairs and renewals than they might have been, and there is good reason for criticising the extent to which the railways were allowed to run down during the war, not least because Ministry officials were themselves aware that post-war replacement costs would be both high and incapable of being cleared in the short run.” [6: p4]

The results of war-time use and neglect were clear. “By 1945, there was a large backlog of repairs and renewals, and this greatly impaired railway operations for the rest of the decade. Despite the considerable increase in traffic, renewal of the permanent way in the years 1940-4 was reduced to under 70 per cent of pre-war levels, and by the end of 1945 the deficiency amounted to nearly 2,500 track miles, or about two years’ work under normal (i.e. pre-war) conditions. A similar reduction was evident in the work on structures — tunnels, bridges, buildings, etc.” [6: p4]

One example of the drastic impact of the war years on the railways is in the condition of rolling stock. According to a British Transport Commission internal memo, before the War rolling stock awaiting repair or under repair was: 6% of Locomotives; 6.5% of Coaching Stock; 2.8% of Wagons. By the end of 1946, the same memo indicated that these figures were: 8% of Locomotives; 12.5% of Coaches; 10.8% of Wagons. Respective increases of: 32%, 92% and 281%!  (Sir Ian Bolton, memo., 21st November 1947, B.T.C. 517-1-1A, B.R-B. ) [6: p5]

“The difficulties of maintaining the stock of freight wagons were greatly exacerbated by the requisition and pooling of about 563,000 privately owned vehicles at the beginning of the war. These were markedly inferior to the railway companies’ own wagon fleet. At the end of 1946 over 50 per cent of them were more than 35 years old, as compared with less than 10 per cent of the companies’ own wagons; so of the total pool of stock nearly 28 per cent were over 35 years old.” [6: p5]

Gourvish comments: “The postponement of essential maintenance and renewals, coupled with the more intensive use of the network and the effects of war damage, proved to be a most unfortunate legacy for post-war managements. The results were felt well into the period of nationalised railways.” [6:p5]

The years 1946 and 1947 presented difficulties which were certainly as acute, if not more acute, than those experienced in wartime. In the words of Christopher Savage, the official historian of inland transport during the war: the problems of restoration and organisation which faced British inland transport when the war ended were scarcely less formidable than the transport problems encountered in the most difficult war years. [6: p6][9]

Four months after the Labour Party took office, a clear commitment to nationalisation was made public by Herbert Morrison in a statement on 19 November 1945.[6: p6][10] The railway companies, together with the London Passenger Transport Board, remained under formal government control until they were vested in the British Transport Commission on 1 January 1948.  In 1948, the British Transport Commission delegated to the Railway Executive its functions in relation to the 4 railway companies, their steamships and other ancillary businesses but reserved to itself engagement with parliament and the government and the issue of stock. … The Executive did not have “powers to acquire undertakings, or to borrow money, nor any power to hold investments.” [1: p2]

The Railway Magazine article, with which we started this post looked forward from January 1948 to the way in which The Railway Executive would organise its responsibilities. It envisaged the creation of six regions on the mainland of Great Britain, with the railways of Northern Ireland being delegated to the London Midland Region. [1: p2, p72]

‘British Railways’ came into existence as the business name of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission (BTC). “The first priority of the new British Railways Board was to repair the infrastructure of the railways damaged by bombing, clear the backlog of maintenance that had built up, and make good losses in locomotives and rolling stock.” [3]

Though there were few initial changes to the service, usage increased and the network became profitable. [4]

The decades after nationalisation in 1948 brought major change in the railway network. Successive governments were committed to the elimination of steam in favour of diesel and electric traction. “Over time, with the growth of the road haulage sector, passengers replaced freight (especially coal transport) as the railways’ main source of income, and, as rationalisation took hold in the 1960s, one third of the pre-1948 network was closed.” [5]

References

1. British Railways; The Railway Magazine, Vol. 94, No. 573, January and February 1948, p1, 2, 72.
2. State Ownership of Railways – The Passing of and Era; The Guardian, 30th December 1947, https://www.theguardian.com/world/1947/dec/30/transport.uk, accessed on 3rd December 2019.
3. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_Great_Britain_1948%E2%80%931994, accessed on 3rd December 2019.
4. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_Great_Britain, accessed on 3rd December 2019.
5. http://www.rail.co.uk/british-railway-history/british-rail, accessed on 9th December 2019.
6. T.R. Gourvish; British Railways 1948-1973; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1986.
7. T.R. Gourvish; Railways in the British Economy 1830-1914; Macmillan, London,1980, p52ff.
8. Sir N. Chester; The Nationalisation of British Industry 1945-51; H.M.S.O., London, 1975, p701.
9. C.I. Savage; Inland Transport; H.M.S.O., London, 1957, p639.
10. Parliamentary Debate (Commons), Volume 416 (Session 1945-6), 35.