In a word forward

[Bryan]

whats the rod running down the centre of the running line

Prototype for Hornby 3 rail?

[52D]

I love little anecdotes like Bryans above being injected into discussions it always brings a smile.

[Pyewipe Junction]

Stembok: Michael Bonavia's book 'British Rail - The First 25 Years' clearly sets out the parlous position of the railways after the war. I assume this is the book you referred to about the cancellation of the 25 express passenger diesel locos.

The 'surpluses' made by British Railways in the first few years of its existence were, IMO, illusory.

The railways never really recovered from WWI and the depression. WWII was simply the coup de grace.

[giner]

G'Day Gents
Electrification, may have been a long turn goal for the LNER, but I think they would have gone down the diesel road first, by doing that they could have got rid of 20,000 staff, and that's a lot of pay packets, that alone would have lifted the dividend.
Britain was building mainline diesel for export in 1950/1 eg, South Australian Railways A1A-A1A locos,off the top of my head I think, 1500hp and 123 tons, they lasted in service until about 1990, so it would have been very easy for the LNER to buy mainline diesels off the peg, they were a single cab unit, and usually ran in pairs,Bingo your up to 3000 hp, that'll take 15 coaches up Stoke bank at a better speed than most A4's, and in 1951, I think old Sir WW would have been thinking about bums on seats, more than what electrification could do with a huge cost outlay.
manna

That 900 Class looks for all the world like an Alco-Schenectady product of that era. Which UK company built those? Did they do any mainline running in Britain? I had no idea that such Americanesque locos had ever existed in Britain.

[manna]

G'Day Gents
I'm sorry but I stuffed up 900Class, Alco designed, S Aust built, English Electric, engine and electricals 1580hp.
The one I was getting mixed up with is the 'NSU' class, 1954 built BRC&W Co (builders of class33's) for the Commonwealth Railway, 850hp, I've seen a picture of this one doing a test run in the UK on standard gauge bogies.

[stembok]

Pyewipe Junction: Michael Bonavia expressed regret over the lapsing of interest in the 25 LNER diesel electrics on more than one occasion, as people who knew him personally have told me. Unfortunately, the post -1923 Grouping railways were handicapped form the start, being heavily regulated, a throwback to their days of being virtual monopolies in many areas and fears that they would abuse this position commercially. In the interwar period rates charged were not allowed by the government to keep pace with rising costs. In the meantime the railways were prey to newer forms of transport without such constraints, often able to 'cherrypick' profitable traffic. The railways had as Public Carriers to take whatever traffic was offered to them - often unprofitable or only very marginally so. Unbelievably, this requirement was not completely removed until 1962! In addition there was the difficlt economic situation in the 1930s to which the LNER was particularly vulnerable by reasons of geography. the The old NER area was to have been the economic driving force of the new group ,but the long recession in heavy industry and also to an extent in agriculture put paid to that.
Had the LNER not been taken into BR in 1948 I think that its position would have been horrendously difficult financially and survival not assured. My point was, however, that the company was certainly not on the rocks by any financial yardstick applied at the time of nationalisation.