A diesel train leaving Waverley Station, Edinburgh, Scotland; by John S Smith, from Looking at Britain, 1959
The height of modernity on the railways of 1959! By the late 1950s British Railways was in the throws of their Modernisation Programme, a massive investment programme that presaged failure on many measures; the investment was very haphazard and often did not have any really clear focus. It was to lead to the massive indebtedness of BR that would see the mid-1960s Beeching 'cure' for the railways. One relatively successful outcome of Modernisation was the introduction, in large numbers, of the diesel-multiple unit and in many cases they proved popular in comparison with decades old steam trains; light, airy and clean and often showing a clean pair of heels. The Scottish Region first experimented with DMUs in 1956 and by 1957 the main Edinburgh - Glasgow route had been turned over to them. Many other local and branch lines soon saw them in service but sadly too late to stem losses and so mounting line closures in the next few years. I think this unit may be a 'Swindon' built one but I'm sure some knowledgeable person will know!
This cheery view of the new broom sees the western exit from Edinburgh's Waverley Station, adjacent to the now abandoned Waverley West signal box. The DMU is edging the 'old' steam train into second place! The green livery carried, and with the yellow 'cats-whiskers' for visibility makes the unit look very efficient. In the background North Bridge strides across the valley and station and the Scotsman Building sits on the upper right edge. The artist is shown as John S Smith (1921 - 2010) who is, I suspect, the same artist who was commissioned by BR for poster work around this time.
A diesel train leaving Waverley Station, Edinburgh, Scotland; by John S Smith, from Looking at Britain, 1959
The height of modernity on the railways of 1959! By the late 1950s British Railways was in the throws of their Modernisation Programme, a massive investment programme that presaged failure on many measures; the investment was very haphazard and often did not have any really clear focus. It was to lead to the massive indebtedness of BR that would see the mid-1960s Beeching 'cure' for the railways. One relatively successful outcome of Modernisation was the introduction, in large numbers, of the diesel-multiple unit and in many cases they proved popular in comparison with decades old steam trains; light, airy and clean and often showing a clean pair of heels. The Scottish Region first experimented with DMUs in 1956 and by 1957 the main Edinburgh - Glasgow route had been turned over to them. Many other local and branch lines soon saw them in service but sadly too late to stem losses and so mounting line closures in the next few years. I think this unit may be a 'Swindon' built one but I'm sure some knowledgeable person will know!
This cheery view of the new broom sees the western exit from Edinburgh's Waverley Station, adjacent to the now abandoned Waverley West signal box. The DMU is edging the 'old' steam train into second place! The green livery carried, and with the yellow 'cats-whiskers' for visibility makes the unit look very efficient. In the background North Bridge strides across the valley and station and the Scotsman Building sits on the upper right edge. The artist is shown as John S Smith (1921 - 2010) who is, I suspect, the same artist who was commissioned by BR for poster work around this time.