The Flickr Transportage Image Generatr

The often overlooked British Transport Commission/British Railways publication "Transport Age" contains some fascinating articles and this, a look at a 'day in the life' of H. Mugliston, the Traffic Manager of the Liverpool Division of the London Midland Region, from March 1964, is no different. A series of photographs look at his work and other aspects of the railway's services and operations; these are by noted photographer John Chillingworth, another surprise for a British Railways magazine.

This splendid photo looks down on a relatively newly electrified Runcorn station that had been rebuilt in what was seen as a modern style, sweeping away the old Victorian feel. What is likely to be a BR AM4 type 25kv AC electric multiple unit, later class 304, stands at the platform whilst a diesel hauled passenger trains passes in the opposite direction; possibly a London train before completion of the West Coast Main LIne electrification scheme? Amongst the passengers a bowler hatted man, our Mr. Mugliston, stands speaking to what is possibly the station master.

The often overlooked British Transport Commission/British Railways publication "Transport Age" contains some fascinating articles and this, a look at a 'day in the life' of H. Mugliston, the Traffic Manager of the Liverpool Division of the London Midland Region, from March 1964, is no different. A series of photographs look at his work and other aspects of the railway's services and operations; these are by noted photographer John Chillingworth, another surprise for a British Railways magazine.

The article also includes this sketch map of the Liverpool Division in a year before some very serious Beeching closures started to kick in. The article does note that Mr. Mugliston is attending meetings of the Merseyside Traffic Committee and it is hoped that a planned three million pound extension scheme making 'greater use of the Mersey rail tunnel' would go ahead. Thankfully it did as the Central Liverpool Merseyrail scheme in the 1970s.

Many of the articles in Transport Age, the BTC's quarterly periodical aimed primarily at freight and business audiences, are to do with the increasing pace of the British Railways Modernisation Plan. This massive undertaking, that sadly saw the railway saddled with increasing debt and losses that led to Dr. Beeching's reviews, saw the dramatic shift from steam to diesel - even allowing for the fact that by the date of this issue, 1959, the last steam locomotive to be delivered to BR had yet to be completed.

This is the opening page of an article looking at the new diesels, both locomotives and diesel multiple units, their design, construction and maintenance. The humble DMU was to become the mainstay of many of BR's lines and although yes, they were more attractive to passengers, for a variety of reasons they did not sadly save more lines. Seen here scurrying through open countryside towards Leeds is one such 4-car unit, whiskers defining the cab. The location looks to be part of the four-track section of the East Coast Main Line either north of York or south beyond Church Fenton.

The issues of the BTC magazine "Transport Age" feature many articles on the growing pace of Modernisation on British Railways, much of which was to hit the rock of the Beeching Review after only a few years. The modernisation saw a dramatic shift to diesel and electric traction and this view of the West Coast Main Line at Bletchley sees a diesel locomotive rushing towards us under the almost complete structure of the Bletchley flyover.

This structure carried the lines of the Oxford - Cambridge cross-country line over the busy West Coast route and was part of a scheme to remove the level crossing of the lines at this point to enable better utilisation and higher speeds particularly on the West Coast lines. What this illustration by artist Vic Carless (1928 - 2011) does not show is the impending overhead electrification that was poised to take place here. Carless was commissioned by British Railways for posters and he is well known for his advertising and particularly his marine subjects.

The flyover was to become a bit of a white elephant and a symbol of the mistakes of the Modernisation Plan. First coming into use in 1959 by 1968 the through line between Oxford and Cambridge had been closed and so much of the raison d'etre of the flyover was undone. It stood until 2021 when as part of the drawn out East-West Rail project to reopen and reconstruct the missing links between the two university towns and serving Milton Keynes it was found to be in poor structural condition and so was partially demolished and reconstructed.

The British Transport Commission's magazine "Transport Age" and the cover to the Aptil 1962 issue. It shows the new booking office at the reconstructed Manchester Piccadilly station that was in the throws of being Modernised as part of the West Coast Electrification scheme. The artwork is by Anthony Atkinson.

Anthony Claude Atkinson (1929 - 2015), the son of artist Claude Atkinson, was a painter and teacher whose work was also commissioned by London Transport for posters. This shows the newly equipped ticket office at Piccadilly that contained "the latest equipment" to maintain a fast passenger flow. This includes four AEG Multiprinter Major machines, that could issue a range of 1,260 different tickets, one AEG Multiprinter Minor, that dealt with 630 different tickets, and two Flexiprinters that could manage 30 regular fares. These AEG machines, of German manufacture, were used at many larger stations across the Eastern, London Midland and Western Regions until the introduction of APTIS machines.

The cover to the October 1963 issue of the magazine "Transport Age" publication of which had started under the auspices of the British Transport Commission but that had been published by British Railways since January 1963 when the BTC was abolished. The cover shows the "new" rail freight symbol that was part of the intention to "mark a new approach to freight traffic" on the railways; this was, of course, part of the serious restructuring of British Railways that was being undertaken by the new Chairman of British Railways, one Dr. Richard Beeching. Beeching was determined to 'modernise' to make railway more efficient and the issue of rail freight was seen as being as important as passenger traffic.

The new look with the bright yellow livery included the Rail Freight symbol that was designed by Ronald Sandiford of the Design Research Unit - an organisation whose work was to play a large part in the development of the 'new' image of British Railways that would lead to British Rail being launched in 1965. The photo is credited to Otto Karminski (1913 - 1982) who was a noted photographer.

The July 1962 edition of the British Transport Commission's monthly magazine has an image of Drakelow Generating Station, near Burton on Trent by artist Lawrence Fish and shows the vital importance of the role of railways in the newer, larger power stations that were under construction by the then Central Electricity Board.

Drakelow was still under construction at this date - the "A" station was completed in 1959, the "B" in 1961 and "C" was under construction and due to come on stream in 1966. By then, for a short time, Drakelow was considered to be the largest generation site in Europe a combined capacity of 2170 MW. The station closed between 1984 and 2003 and all decomissioned elements have since been demolished.

The somewhat sorry saga of the diesel hydraulic locomotives of the Western Region of British Railways is too lengthy to even attempt here and so I will limit myself to say here are two types of the locomotives under construction at the Swindon Works in Wiltshire. Swindon had been, of course, the home of the Great Western Railway's locomotive works and this function continued post-nationalisation in 1948. The locomotive centre stage being discussed is one of the 74 D1000 series, latterly BR Class 52, known in service as the "Western" class given the names that they would eventually carry. This smart design of locomotive was the subject of various experimental liveries. The D1000 class is flanked by the bulbous nose of two D800, latterly BR Class 42, locomotives under construction. The body design of this class owes much more to the West German origins of the diesel-hydraulics the Western ordered. The 42s were destined to have short lives in service with various factors conspiring against them and indeed, even though more robust and successful, the Class 52s also were effectively extinct within around 15 years of construction. Swindon Works itself was closed in 1986.

An interesting shot showing BR diesel multiple units under construction in a 'railway workshop' - and now ready for delivery. These vehicles were built by various BR workshops and external contractors as part of the BR Investment Programme that saw the widespread introduction of diesel motive power to British Railways in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Valiant as the Programme was, much of the investment was subsequently seen as 'wasted' as BR chased after markets in decline - even the DMUs didn't stop the rot on all BR's passenger lines. However, many of these units served BR very well until the 1980s and '90s as the mainstay of many branch lines and provincial routes. I suspect this is Derby Works?

A grainy scan from the Transport Age magazine issued by the British Transport Commission on the Manchester - Crewe electrification scheme that formed the start of the wider West Coast Main Line electrification. The view shows what was then Manchester London Road station before it was re-named Manchester Piccadilly on 12 September 1960. These major works saw the shortening of the two Victorian train shed as can be clearly seen here. The general messiness of the works - with passengers making their way around heaps of rubble is a far cry from today's building sites! A relatively modern DMU sits under overhead gantries for the 25kv AC scheme that are partially complete - on the far side of the station would be the 1500v DC overhead of the Sheffield lines. In the bottom left is a sign propped up against the bridge for "Mayfield Station" - the overspill and relief platforms, mostly for suburban services, that closed to passenger in 1960.

From an article on Yorkshire industry in the British Transport magazine 'Transport Age' - an image of a chemical works in Hudderfield, West Yorkshire. This is the works of C L Holliday, an independent scion of the Read Holliday company that by this date was part of ICI and whose factory was also in the locality.

An interesting shot showing BR diesel multiple units (Class 108) under construction in a 'railway workshop' - these vehicles were built by various BR workshops and external contractors as part of the BR Investment Programme that saw the widespread introduction of diesel motive power to British Railways in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Valiant as the Programme was, much of the investment was subsequently seen as 'wasted' as BR chased after markets in decline - even the DMUs didn't stop the rot on all BR's passenger lines. However, many of these units served BR very well until the 1980s and '90s as the mainstay of many branch lines and provincial routes.

A nice shot of Ford cars leaving their then Dagenham manufacturing plant in east London and scanned from an article by British Railways on the introduction of diesel locomotives to frieght trains in 1959. The vast Thames-side plant was one of the major plants in the then large UK car manufacturing sector that has largely vanished.

Taken from an article on the Manchester - Crewe AC electrification and modernisation that appeared in the October 1960 British Transport Commission magazine "Transport Age" and highlighting this important scheme that helped lay the foundation for much of the later electrification and modernisation work undertaken by British Railways. This was indeed all 'cutting edge' stuff as BR's new 25kv AC electrification, that was pioneered on the Manchester - Crewe section before being rolled out on the southern section of the West Caost mainline, is seen here in the form of an AL1 type locomotive that appears to be E3001 delivered in 1959 and used for test trains. Built for BR by AEI (at the Birmingham RCW) it later become Class 81001. It looks very fine in the electric blue with cast numerals and logos. Jodrell bank telescope, constructed for Manchester University in 1957 and now formally known as the Lovell Telescope after after Sir Bernard Lovell (1913 - 2012), the pioneering physicist and radio astronomer.

Taken from an article on the Manchester - Crewe AC electrification and modernisation that appeared in the October 1960 British Transport Commission magazine "Transport Age" and highlighting this important scheme that helped lay the foundation for much of the later electrification and modernisation work undertaken by British Railways. As part of this work the station of the south side of Manchester city centre, at Oxford Road, was reconstructed using a very contemporary architectural style with the old buildings replaced by the current largely timber structure by architects W.R. Headley and Max Glendinning and structural engineer Hugh Tottenham. It is now Grade 2 Listed and is seen here with both overhead wires and a grand example of an early BR diesel-multiple unit of a type I fondly recall!

Taken from an article on the Manchester - Crewe AC electrification and modernisation that appeared in the October 1960 British Transport Commission magazine "Transport Age" and highlighting this important scheme that helped lay the foundation for much of the later electrification and modernisation work undertaken by British Railways. Seen here is the work of rigging the overhead for the 25kv AC electrification at an unknown location. The article notes the use of specially converted electrification trains as seens here - quite what today's HSE culture would make of these unprotected high level working platforms I don't know and looking at the BTC film of the same period about the London - Southen Victoria electrification the working standards were pretty primative! Anyhow, it got the job done - and I wonder how it compares with NR's current attempts to develop a high perfomance and output OLHE train?

A dramatic depiction, by artist Lawrence Fish, of bridge replacement works by British Railways of the Hills Road bridge in Cambridge. True to BTC's remit at the time the description also makes reference to Pickfords Heavy Haulage (the BTC 'owned' both Pickfords and BR) who lifted the new concrete beams into position.

From an article in Transport Age, the BTC magazine, an image of the final inspection line at the then thriving Austin Motor Works in Longbridge, Birmingham that was one of the power houses of Birmingham's motor and engineering industry that has now all but vanished. As noted below by MT these are model Austin A105s - only hubcaps missing! Looking carefully at top left, amongst the man in white coats, you can see a woman in apron with a duster giving the cars a 'final once-over'!

Grand Union Canal at Braunston , Northamptonshire, England - Little Braunston Bridge Number Four.
Admiral Nelson Pub is directly by this bridge and lock.
The canal alongside Braunston is a junction between the Oxford Canal and the Grand Union Canal, which was once an important part of the national transport system. Many former boating families have links to Braunston, the churchyard in the village having many graves of boatmen and women.
The village thrived for over 150 years on the canal trade - carrying goods from the Midlands to London. Now it is a centre for leisure activities and boasts by far and away the busiest stretch of canal anywhere in the country.
The unique triangular junction between the two canals has two bridges made at Horseley Ironworks carrying the towpath over the canal. This was not the original meeting point of the Grand Junction and Oxford Canals: the junction was moved in the course of improvements to the Oxford Canal in the 1830s, prior to which the junction was near where the marina is today, and where a third Horseley Ironworks bridge can be seen.
The canals are no longer used for carrying freight, but are now used mostly by pleasure boats. Braunston has a marina filled with these pleasure boats and is usually quite busy.
From the marina, six locks carry the Grand Union Canal up to Braunston Tunnel, some 2,049 yards (1,874 m) long.

An image especially for those on Bermondsey Blue - another scan, this of the delivery yard at the Bermondsey bakery showing trailers and British Railways vans and tractor units taking the famous biscuits off to be distributed by train. The building proudly proclaims the years in existance - 1857 to 1961 at that pint.