Arguably, since the 1920s but markedly
since the 1960s, the railways have been fighting a losing battle with
the road transport to retain their share of freight traffic.
Gone are
the days when almost every British passenger station had its own goods
yard, handling all kinds of freight in wagonload quantities for
distribution in the local area.
That network of general freight
terminals was gradually reduced and, eventually, eliminated, as the
railway lost out to its main competitor, the lorry, with British Rail
effectively throwing in the towel in relation to wagonload traffic with
the demise of the Speedlink network in the 1990s.
At
the same time, rail freight has developed new markets for heavy
trainload operations. That growth has led to the setting up of
specialised terminals for aggregates, cement, steel, deep-sea containers
and other bulk cargoes. The move from traditional wagonload traffic to
lengthy and heavy block trains conveying only type of freight has been
fully accomplished.
This book
illustrates and describes the huge transition that has taken place
across the British railway network over the last 60 years in relation to
the handling of goods traffic. It provides views of long-forgotten
operations forming a stark contrast with the streamlined facilities of
today.
The book also looks at the range of traction and rolling-stock
which was used to handle the nation’s railway freight traffic over the
decades ranging from steam-hauled pick-up goods trains to today's
uniform loads of 2,000 tonnes and more.
