The London Midland Region covered a huge part of England from London to the north and north west, from the Scottish borders into the south west. It served huge metropolitan cities and towns, supported heavy industry, and ran through areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the Peak District and Lake District. Modelling the Midland Region from 1948 is an essential guide to creating your own model based on the London Midland Region of the British Railways era. It covers the history of the London Midland Region; British Rail and LMS locomotives; passenger and goods rolling stock; structures and scenery unique to the region, and signalling and electrification. The authors of this book are trustees of the charity Famous Trains model railway and directors of its operating company Famous Trains Ltd. An essential guide to creating your own model based on the London Midland region, for all scales and levels of interest, and fully illustrated with 232 colour photographs and 15 diagrams.

This lavishly illustrated book provides guidance on how to transform your model from its bare structure to a realistic finish. This new book provides: a guide for both beginners and the more experienced, covering all scales and gauges; advice on the selection of airbrushes, compressors and essential tools; a simple three-step process to clean and prepare your model for painting; guidance on dealing with faults and paint problems; instruction on the pros and cons of the different ways to produce lines; tips to help you produce consistent fine lines with a bow pen; how to get the best out of transfers and the different types available, and finally, basic weathering techniques using a variety of methods. With over 500 colour photographs it will help even the beginner to produce a realistic life-like model.

Comprehensive in its coverage, Modelling the Southern Region - 1948 to the Present presents an historical overview of the post-war Southern Region of British Railways before guiding the reader through a series of detailed modelling projects, illustrating all of the techniques and equipment required, from building freight, locomotives and architecture, to modernization, electrification and the third rail. These projects make use of the best available commercial model-making products and provide an introduction to scratch-building your own lineside items. Each project is supported by a short historical background section and suggestions as to how each project could be further developed. The result will be a set of models that sets the modeller on track for a first-class model of the Southern Region. Contents include: full listings of all tools and materials; an explanation of the techniques used and possible alternative methods; step by step instructions from simple to more advanced projects; a detailed but easily digestible approach to building both ready-to-run and kit-built items; techniques and ideas on how to construct those items not yet available from the model trade. This is an essential reference for all those who wish to build a model railway based on the post-war Southern Region of British Railways and is fully illustrated with 237 colour photographs detailing modelling techniques.

This book provides a critical overview of the relationships between planning and railway management and development during the key period in the 20th Century when the railway was in public ownership: 1948–94. It assesses the strength of the relationships when working in collaboration with the private sector. The book then focuses on the interplay between planning and railway since privatization in 1994 and points to best practice for the future in institutional structures and policy development to secure improved outcomes.

Originally published in 1986, this is a business history of the first twenty-five years of nationalised railways in Britain. Commissioned by the British Railways Board and based on the Board's extensive archives, it fully analyses the dynamics of nationalised industry management and the complexities of the vital relationship with government. After exploring the origins of nationalisation, the book deals with the organisation, financial performance, investment and commercial policies of the British Transport Commission (1948-2), Railway Executive (1948-53) and British Railways Board (1963-73). Calculations of profit and loss, investment, and productivity are provided on a consistent basis for 1948-73. This business history thus represents a major contribution not only to the debate about the role of the railways in a modern economy but also to that concerning the nationalised industries, which have proved to be one of the most enduring problems of the British economy since the war.

A very important and thorough analysis of the debate on retirement and state pensions in Britain.