BR Times Issue 1: July 2025

BR Times, a new history periodical dedicated to students and enthusiasts of the British Rail (BR) era. As a rail enthusiast of 40 years and a railwayman now in his third decade of service, the editor has a deep appreciation for the British Rail period. He grew up in Westhouses, a modest Derbyshire village that owes its very existence to the Midland Railway. The railway built not only an engine shed but also rows of terraced houses for its employees – each street named after a Midland Railway director. They even constructed the school he attended as a child. Unlike the established Times series, BR Times will focus specifically on the era from around 1965 to 1997. It will examine the everyday activities of BR through carefully chosen photographs and illustrated articles covering the five regions and three decades of British Rail. But we will also be asking: Was BR really as bad as many remember? And do we give it enough credit for its many achievements?