Railways and the British Economy 1830–1914

Abstract

This series, specially commissioned by the Economic History Society, provides a guide to the current interpretations of the key themes of economic and social history in which advances have recently been made or in which there has been significant debate. Originally entitled 'Studies in Economic History', in 1974 the series had its scope extended to include topics in social history, and the new series title, 'Studies in Economic and Social History', signalises this development. The series gives readers access to the best work done, helps them to draw their own conclusions in major fields of study, and by means of the critical bibliography in each book guides them in the selection offurther reading. The aim is to provide a springboard to further work rather than a set of prepackaged conclusions or shortcuts. ECONOMIC HISTORY SOCIETY The Economic History Society, which numbers over 3000 members, publishes the Economic History Review four times a year (free to members) and holds an annual conference. Enquiries about membership should be addressed to the Assistant Secretary, Economic History Society, Peterhouse, Cambridge. Full-time students may join the Society at special rates.

Railways, roads and the British white fish industry, 1920–70

“…The 1962 Act gave BR far more freedom to accept or reject traffic on a purely commercial basis than it had previously enjoyed. 111 Although Beeching's report did not mention fish traffic it was well known that much of it was uneconomic, as Geoffrey Freeman Allen argued forcibly in his 1965 defence of Beeching. He pointed 754…”

“…In particular, losses on freight traffic mounted Business History 751 quickly in the late 1950s. 93 One reason for this, not least in connection with fish traffic, was the two-week railwaymen's strike of 1955. During the early 1950s, although everyone acknowledged that roads were going to play some role in future distribution, there is no indication that anyone involved seriously envisaged the railways losing the fish traffic altogether.…”

“…The Transport Act of that year, which came into force in January 1963, 'swept away the remaining traces' of the integrated transport system established at nationalisation. 110 The BTC was abolished, and management of the railways was entrusted to the newly created British Railways Board, commonly known as British Rail (BR), of which Beeching became the first chairman. His plan was to return the railways to profit by disposing of unprofitable traffic, closing underused routes and investing in the parts of the system that did or could be expected to pay their way.…”

“…100 The fish trades were hamstrung by fragmentation and lack of ability to act in concert, and the railways by the bureaucracy imposed by the BTC, by longestablished but inefficient working practices and services that proved resistant to reform, by accounting deficiencies which made costing a given service difficult, and by conservative and sometimes ineffective management. 101 As a result, with the increasingly large exception of the major chains, the fish traffic in the late 1950s represented a modified version of the arrangements which had obtained before 1939, except that now they were increasingly unsustainable and living on borrowed time.…”

‘Specifically Designed’? Employers' Labour Strategies and Worker Responses in British Railway Workshops, 1838–1914

“…The length of both the entire railway system and many individual companies lines also increased considerably. 7 Britain's private locomotive-building sector had been established during the 1820s and 1830s, developing out of the general engineering industry as the first period of increased demand for locomotives created the need for specialisation.8 Early firms included the famous Robert Stephenson Company established in 1823, Sharp, Roberts and Co. (1830) and Charles Tayleur's 'Vulcan Foundry' (1830) as well as numerous small firms which were probably little more than 'jobbing foundries'. The exact number of private companies which existed during the railways' earliest years is uncertain, but the Great Western Railway (GWR) bought locomotives from 12 different firms in 1851.…”