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    Was Britain at a disadvantage being the first country to introduce railways?

    Britain was the first country to introduce railways. Did Britain make errors in developing the railway as there were no examples to follow and did other countries learn from Britain and avoided any mistakes Britain made.
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    Has public transport ever run on Christmas and Boxing day?

    Currently trains and buses don't run Christmas and Boxing day. Have there been periods in British history when buses or trains ran on these days.
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    Have there been suggestions to completely abolish railways?

    This is something I touched on a thread about the Beeching cuts. Has there been a widespread belief during any period in history that the railways were an obsolete relic as a means of transport and that motor vehicles should carry all traffic. Dr Beeching heavily cut the railway network. Were...
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    Equivalent of Beeching in other countries

    Were there instances in other countries where rail lines were heavily cut as with Beeching in the UK.
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    The introduction of ticket machines

    I am curious when were ticket machines first introduced on the British railways. There have been discussions on this forum whether ticket offices are necessary due to ticket machines, apps and the internet. Prior to the introduction of apps and the internet, could ticket machines alone have...
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    Beeching closures

    Is it the case that lines would have been cut even if there was no competition from motor vehicles.
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    Open carriages

    In the past train carriages consisted of a corridor and the train was split into compartments with the seats facing each other. All trains are now open carriages. When were open carriage trains introduced and when were carriages split into compartments phased out.
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    Beeching closures

    When I read Christian Woolmar's book on the history of Britain's railways I recall reading that in the 19th century there was an unregulated railway building boom where vast numbers of line were built. Is it the case that far more railway lines were built than necessary even when railways had a...
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    Beeching closures

    I have a some questions about the Beeching cuts :- * Was there a widespread view in the 50s and 60s the railways as a means of transport were an outdated relic from the Victorian age and motor vehicles would be the transport of the future. * There was a documentary on BBC 4 by Ian Hislop on...

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