It made sense for the UK to stick with tried and trusted steam

摘要

Who does Tony Fawthrop think he is kidding in saying BR was awful (June issue)? Just three years before Nationalisation, Britain was fighting a war for its very existence in which the enemy was blockading us as well as trying to destroy the rail network from the air. The chronic shortages that Mr Fawthrop cites included locos and, importantly, petroleum. In addition, the country was very short of money. In the 1950s, the Soviet Union was seen as a threat to our supply of oil from the Gulf. There was no North Sea oil then and no motorway network either. The country was heavily dependent on the railways and, without the benefit of a crystal ball, it made most sense to continue with tried and trusted motive power that used indigenous fuel, at least until electrification became established.