There are endless stories on the railway, from providing better services for passengers and freight operators to raising safety awareness. Here are 10 of the most read last year: Want more posts? Visit our stories section to read our latest posts.
We’ve reached the last stops for Tim Dunn’s third series of The Architecture the Railways Built on Yesterday. Tim shows us the Grade I listed Curzon Street station in Birmingham in the final episode, ahead of its transformation into part of the new terminus for high speed railway HS2. It’s at this site, in March 2019, where … Continued
“The railway was crucial in WWII … keeping the heart of Britain going.” The railway played a crucial role in WWII, for which we say thank you to all those who served and sacrificed. At the outbreak of war, railway companies evacuated 1.3 million children and some adults from big towns and cities. In May … Continued
In 1919, a special service commemorated the railway workers who had served and lost their lives during the First World War. A hundred years later, the railway industry came together to mark the centenary, at a service at Southwark Cathedral in London. Network Rail has collaborated with London Transport Museum and National Railway Museum to … Continued
A plaque dedicated to Wilston Samuel Jackson, Britain’s first Black train driver, has been unveiled at London King’s Cross station. It’s hoped the plaque, unveiled during Black History Month, on 25 October, to mark his outstanding contribution to the rail industry, will encourage more people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds to consider a … Continued
Presenter Tim Dunn tells us all about London’s first ever terminus in brand-new The Architecture the Railways Built on Yesterday. Spa Road station in Bermondsey opened in February 1836 for the first section of the London and Greenwich Railway and is arguably the ancestor of today’s London Bridge station. Spa Road dates back to the … Continued
Stunning original drawings of one of Britain’s earliest railways have re-emerged in our archive. The archive, in York, has just rediscovered engineer Thomas Longridge Gooch’s plans for the Manchester and Leeds Railway, which opened in 1839. The original contract drawings for this line, which date from about 1836, are rare examples of highly artistic railway … Continued
Presenter Tim Dunn visits Britain’s first modern high speed railway line – the Selby Diversion – in the latest instalment of The Architecture the Railways Built on Yesterday. Tim meets the engineer behind this 1980s engineering triumph, which was essential to safe journeys when coal was discovered beneath the East Coast Main Line from London … Continued
Television presenter Tim Dunn joins a night shift in the latest episode of The Architecture the Railways Built to find out what it takes to look after our Victorian infrastructure. Watch episode four of series three on Yesterday to watch Tim and our engineers inside the beautiful Bramhope Tunnel in Leeds. The two-mile tunnel on … Continued
London Charing Cross station stars in the new series of The Architecture the Railways Built on Yesterday. Read on for some bonus history and find out what Sir Christopher Wren has to do with it … In episode three, presenter Tim Dunn visits Charing Cross – London’s most central terminus – and finds incredible hidden … Continued