The Seventies Railway

For British Rail, the 1970s was a time of contrasts, when bad jokes about sandwiches and pork pies often veiled real achievement, like 'parkway' stations and high-speed travel. The Seventies Railway thus starts with the optimism of the new decade, covers the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, the introduction of new computer systems and the giving of grants to support socially vital services. But while speeds were climbing, and finances appeared to be improving, Monday morning misery remained for many, as rolling stock aged and grew ever more uncomfortable. This BR is a BR of Travellers-Fare, Freightliners and peak-capped porters - a BR enduring a difficult period, which was beset with strikes, which began with the aftershock of Beeching, but ended with the introduction of 125-mph services and the promise of even faster trains to come.