NEW SEPTEMBER 2014. This material is derived from issues of the Railway Magazine between January 1918 and December 1919.

These extracts give an idea of some of the effects the War had on the railways, on railwaymen and on the population more generally. Items relating to the GER have been included (such as a dispute between the GER and the Post Office when the latter wanted to build their tube under Liverpool Street), but so too have more general ones where it is judged they have particular interest or relevance, such as thoughts of future competition from road and air. 

Even in 1918 minds were turning to life after the War. What would happen when the Government removed its emergency control of the railways?  More significant (but less widely known) than their eventual organisation into the 'big four' was the placing of all forms of transport for the first time under a single cabinet minister - prior to the Ministry of Transport Act, 1919, responsibility for the railways was just a side issue of the Board of Trade.

The cost of living had more than doubled since 1914, and labour disputes looked inevitable. A major rail strike did occur, and enthusiastic volunteers took to save the country by keeping the trains running.  These amateurs even acted as guards and some, almost unbelievably nowadays, were actually used to drive trains. There is an account by C. J. Allen of his experiences in charge of a signal box.

Fittingly these extracts conclude with a description of the first Remembrance Day, on 11 November 1919.

The selections have been taken from an incomplete run of the Magazines. The issues from 1914 to 1918 are particularly scarce. When the latest copy had been read, the owner was encouraged to send it to the lads in the trenches – and conditions there were not ideal for preserving them!

The text from the magazines is unaltered, but has been put into more modern font and is fully word-searchable.

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