HullRailMan
Member
- Joined
- 8 Oct 2018
- Messages
- 330
In what way were they the glory days? Initially, the nationalised system was run down after the war and saddled with the debt from buying it. The modernisation plan was a missed opportunity with too many types of often ineffective traction brought into service. A period of significant cuts and closures followed and the cash strapped 70s and 80s were hardly glorious. All the while BR lost passenger and freight business hand over fist.Watch Ken Loach's amazing film 'The Spirit of '45' to remind yourself that once we had the glory days of the Railways Utilities etc under public ownership.
BR wasn't perfect but it was a hell of a lot better and less costly than the fragmented nightmare we have now. As stated competition has never really existed and competition can be a bad thing too for staff too. A nurse on ITVs 'The dirty war on the NHS' is in tears about how she was made to compete with other staff members to meet performance targets
BR did some things well, such as Intercity, but this really was a time of managed decline rather than glory days.