Railway Blunders |
Adrian Vaughan £16.99
Ian Allan Publishing, Riverdene Business Park, Molesey Road, Hersham, Surrey KT 12
4RG
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At last, a railway book written in an entirely different, most entertaining way. The author
has a long (deserved) pedigree in railway writings and in this excellent book he sets out
to record some of the principal mistakes and bad decisions made on, on behalf of and for
our railways over the last two centuries. Naturally, a book of this kind is bound to be
contentious and subjective, though Adrian more than backs up his assertions with hard
facts.
A constant thread reflects on the amount of political interference afflicting railways by
characters with no knowledge of this form of transport, often with fingers deeply plunged
into rival pies. Sleaze is nothing new! This has gone on since railways were invented and,
very distressingly, continues, perhaps even more so, right now. Even if corruption is not
behind some of today's more recent blunders, incompetence certainly is!
You'll find, I'm sure, as I did, a complete agreement with the author on some matters
and on reading further, complete disagreement. For instance, the somewhat unfair
accolades heaped on George Stephenson are delightfully punctured, and the rivalry
between the HR's civil engineer and mechanical engineer over the 'River' Class has
never been better explained. Alexander Newlands deflation is wonderfully expressed
when the LMS placed Smith's outstanding 4-6-0s (probably the finest big loco the
company inherited) back on the line for which they were intended. I loved it! Where I
would argue with the author is in placing the 'Britannias' as a blunder. True, they had
faults, but to blame the design and fixing of the slidebar/crosshead arrangement on the
LNER is grossly unfair. The way the 'Brit's' bits were made and fixed was at fault, not
the basic arrangement. No Gresley, Thompson or Peppercorn Pacific lost its motion in
the way Adrian describes the BR Standards did, and they travelled considerably more
miles, far faster and often on much harder work than his beloved GWR types.
The modern scene, naturally, doesn't escape in the blunder stakes. Never has the control
of railways from those who know how to run them to those who only know about profit
been better illustrated. From the hopeless early diesels (did you know that a cup of tea
once brought a 'Hymek' to failure?), to the awful Virgin 'Voyagers', none worthy of
castigation escapes. What's happened to the highly-trained maintenance and rescue gangs
who knew their jobs, could clear dangers and obstructions in hours - at most days and
were true professionals? They had the equipment and could use it. Today, no one seems
to know, can't afford it or doesn't care!
Finishing the book brought an air of ambivalence. I was hugely entertained, yet felt a
deep sorrow for the way our railways are run today. Throughout railways' history, things
have tried to be improved, made safer, better, quicker, more cost-effective and bigger.
Unfortunately, the last mentioned seems to have afflicted our current railway runners, for
they seem intent on 'blundering' in a way unprecedented by their forefathers! Just to
make you feel even more depressed, read how the Health & Safety Executive reacted to
the name on the signalbox at Sheringham. Read and weep!
Thoroughly recommended - an absolute gem of a book and great value for money.
Tony Wright
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