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British Railways, 1948-73 : a business history
This is a business history of the first 25 years of nationalized railways in Britain. Commissioned by the British Railways Board and based on the Board's extensive archives, it fully analyses the dynamics of nationalized industry management and the complexities of the vital relationship with government.
Book
British rail, 1974 - 97
Britain's privatised railways continure to provoke debate about the organisation, financing, and development of the railway system. This important book, written by Britain's leading railway historian, provides an authoritative account of the progress made by British Rail prior to privatisation, and a unique insight into its difficult role in the government's privatisation planning from 1989. Based on free access to the British Railway Board's rich archives, the book provides a comprehensive analysis of the main themes: a process of continuous organisational change; the existence of a persistent government audit; perennial investment restraints; the directive to reduce operating costs and improve productivity; a concern with financial performance, technological change, service quality, and the management of industrial relations; and the Board's ambiguous position as the Conservative government pressed home its privatisation programme. The introduction of sector management from 1982 and the 'Organising for Quality' initiative of the early 1990s, the Serpell Report on railway finances of 1983, the sale of the subsidiary businesses, the large-scale investment in the Channel Tunnel, and the obsession with safety which followed the Clapham accident of 1988, are all examined in depth. In the conclusion, the author reviews the successes and failures of the public sector, rehearses the arguments for and against integration in the railway industry, and contrasts what many have termed 'the golden age' of the mid-late 1980s, when the British Rail-government relationship was arguably at its most effective, with what has happened since 1994.
eBook
The railway navvies : a history of the men who made the railways
This is the definitive story of the men who built the railways - the unknown Victorian labourers who blasted, tunnelled, drank and brawled their way across nineteenth-century England. Preached at and plundered, sworn at and swindled, this anarchic elite endured perils and disasters, and carved out of the English countryside an industrial-age architecture unparalleled in grandeur and audacity since the building of the cathedrals.
Book
National Security as a Corporate Social Responsibility: Critical Infrastructure Resilience
This article argues for an extension to the scope of corporate social responsibility (CSR) research to include a contemporary issue of importance to national and global security, critical infrastructure resilience. Rather than extending the multiple perspectives on CSR, this study aimed to identify a method of recognising CSR-related issues, before applying it to two dissimilar case studies on critical infrastructure resilience. One case study was of an international telecommunications company based in the US while the other was of the railway network in Britain during a period of privatisation. The method used was derived from Okoye's (J Bus Ethics 89(4): 613-627, 2009) common reference core for CSR. Both case studies satisfied all the criteria sought which points to critical infrastructure resilience as being an emerging CSR issue. Because ongoing change characterises CSR, the method may have application for identifying future new CSR strands. As the findings suggest that some aspects of national and global security are CSR-related phenomena, the study demonstrates how CSR research may be significant at a societal, national and global level. Implications of the study include a broadening of the value and reach of contributions from CSR researchers and practitioners.
Journal Article
British Rail 1974–1997
Britain's privatized railways continue to provoke debate about the organization, financing, and development of the railway system. This important book provides an authoritative account of the progress made by British Rail prior to privatization, and a unique insight into its difficult role in the government's privatization planning from 1989. Based on free access to the British Railway Board's archives, the book provides an analysis of the main themes: a process of continuous organizational change; the existence of a persistent government audit; perennial investment restraints; the directive to reduce operating costs and improve productivity; a concern with financial performance, technological change, service quality, and the management of industrial relations; and the Board's ambiguous position as the Conservative government pressed home its privatization programme. The introduction of sector management from 1982 and the ‘Organizing for Quality’ initiative of the early 1990s, the Serpell Report on railway finances of 1983, the sale of the subsidiary businesses, the large-scale investment in the Channel Tunnel, and the obsession with safety which followed the Clapham accident of 1988, are all examined. In the conclusion, the book reviews the successes and failures of the public sector, rehearses the arguments for and against integration in the railway industry, and contrasts what many have termed ‘the golden age’ of the mid-late 1980s, when the British Rail-government relationship was arguably at its most effective, with what has happened since 1994.
eBook
A Thousand Blunders
Intro -- Contents -- Illustrations and Figures -- Preface -- Abbreviations -- One: Introduction: 'A Tragedy Rather than Otherwise' -- Two: 'In a Hole': Entry into British Columbia, 1902-12 -- Three: 'Banging Right through on a Straight Line': Construction -- Four: 'Too Good or Too Fat for the Job': Labour Relations -- Five: 'A Frail Little City': Prince Rupert -- Six: 'A Hold-up Business': Acquisition of Indian Lands -- Seven: In the Hollow of the Corporation's Hand': Prince George -- Eight: 'For Pure Spite': Hazelton District -- Nine: 'Grand Trafficker of Promises': Operations, 1914-19 -- Ten: Conclusion: 'The Tenderloin and the Hook' -- Notes -- Select Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y.
eBook
The Railways of Britain: An Unstudied Map Corpus
Railway mapping, a distinctive genre of cartography, came into existence with the invention of railway transport in Britain. The planned route for the first public railway, the Stockton & Darlington Railway, was surveyed by 1820 as a statutory requirement for the Act of Parliament that was necessary before construction could proceed. The Stockton & Darlington Railway was granted its Act in 1821 and opened in 1825. From then on, an abundance of maps, plans, diagrams and technical drawings were created to enable railways to be planned, constructed and operated; to be changed, developed and regulated; to attract business and passengers; and to provide railway staff with a range of specialist tools. Today, Britain probably has the largest surviving corpus of such material, but owing to the essentially private nature of the preparation and use of railway maps, it remains largely unstudied and therefore scarcely evaluated in terms of its historical worth. This paper summarizes the archival history of Britain's railway maps and describes eleven broad categories of railway cartography that collectively form a coherent body of maps covering much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and which await better access and comprehensive study. It also underlines the urgency of ensuring the preservation of the railway map archive from further loss and destruction.
Journal Article
Energy absorption requirement for crashworthy vehicles
Abstract
A study of the design energy requirements for crashworthy vehicles has been carried out. Linear model analysis has proved very useful in understanding the collision behaviour of two trains, particular ly the interaction between the vehicles. It was found that the coupler elements provide isolation to the vehicles and reduce the inuence of subsequent vehicles on the impact of preceding vehicles. Calculation formulae for the energy absorption requirement for both leading and intermediate ends are presented. These have been derived from simulation results of ve projects and would be applicable to all rail vehicles in collisions. It is recommended that a collision between two rakes of three or four vehicles would be sufcient to represent the behaviour of longer rakes. It is believed that this study contributes towards a better understanding of energy absorption in a rail collision.
Journal Article
Improving Train Maintenance Through Process Modelling and Component-Based System Design and Implementation
Abstract
Improving the UK train services has been the subject of many debates in the last few years particularly after the privatization of the rail network in 1993. Within the network's complex structure, the train maintenance industry plays a major role in keeping trains in safe condition with a high standard of customer service. The results of a research work carried out by Loughborough University to investigate ways of improving the current practice in this industry through the application of business process modelling and component-based system design approaches are documented in the present paper. The method that has been adopted to enable a formal representation of a typical train maintenance process is discussed in detail and a case study based around a major maintenance supplier on the South West Trains network in the UK is described.
Journal Article