Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 19th century-20th century (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
27 bundles
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
British Rail was solely responsible for the state railways of Britain, transforming a collection of exhausted, post-war steam operators into the modern network we know today.
The history of British Rail is the story of post-war rail travel in the UK. British Railways, known from the 1960s simply as British Rail, operated most of Britain's trains from 1948 to 1997. Formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" UK railway companies – LNER, LMS, GWR and SR – BR became an independent statutory corporation in 1962 (the British Railways Board) and oversaw the transformation of the UK rail network until its privatisation in the 1990s.
The decades after nationalisation in 1948 brought wholesale change to the national railway network, as governments committed to the elimination of steam traction in favour of diesel and electric power. 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.
In the 1970s, British Rail began investing in High Speed Trains and by 1990 both main coastal express routes, the East and West Coast Main Lines had been electrified between London and central Scotland.
Following a 1950s modernisation plan designed to take Britain's railways from the 19th to the 20th century, Doctor Richard Beeching's 1963 report, 'The Reshaping of British Railways', recommended the closure of a third of passenger services and more than 4000 of the 7000 stations. Most of the closures were carried out between 1963 and 1970, and today's network is largely his legacy.
In 1982, British Rail passenger services were split into three core sectors: InterCity, NetworkSouthEast and Regional Railways. Then, between 1994 and 1997, British Rail was privatised, as track and infrastructure passed to Railtrack in 1994 and, later, passenger services were franchised in 25 blocks to private-sector operators. Freight services were sold outright. Overall, ownership and operation of the network became highly fragmented, as operations were split between more than 100 companies.
Repository
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Set of employee salaried staff record book. In some cases the books have been disbound and repackaged by the archivist. The volumes include names of employees, dates of birth, insurance numbers (where applicable) as well as details of positions worked and grades. Also includes details of salaries and bonuses achieved. The volumes are predominantly from the 20th century, but in some cases relate to employees born in the 19th century. The volumes are arranged by the surname of the staff member, and there are overlapping volumes for the same surnames in some cases.
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Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Restricted access (Data Protection Act)
Material is available subject to the usual terms and conditions of access to Archives and Local History collections.
Conditions governing reproduction
Images are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.
Language of material
- English