Lines of Power

The Electrification of British Railways. Trials, Tribulations and Triumphs

John Buxton, Donald Heath

• Publisher: Unicorn
• Year: 2025
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• eBook ISBN:
  9781917458597
• Subtopic: Automotive Transportation & Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Written by John Buxton and Don Heath, two experienced rail professionals, Lines of Power delivers a comprehensive record of the stuttering progress of electrification and modernisation of Britain's railway network, exposing the furtive manoeuvring by competing factions within the railway industry during the 1950s. The book is highly critical of the excessive scepticism of the Department of Transport (DoT later DfT) and the frequent disproportionate, and often imprudent, interventions by politicians that have collectively thwarted the opportunity to progress a more comprehensive and cost effective 'rolling programme' of electrification.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Preface
• Glossary (including references to specific types of railway rolling stock)
• Chapter 1: Pioneers
• Chapter 2: The First Rapid Transit Schemes
• Chapter 3: Early Main Line Schemes
• Chapter 4: LNER Electrification Schemes Deferred by the Second World War
• Chapter 5: Attempts at Standardisation
• Chapter 6: British Railways Attempts at Developing an Electrification Strategy
• Chapter 7: British Railways Approach to Electrification Following the Modernisation Plan
• Chapter 8: Schemes Promoted by British Railways 1950–1974
• Chapter 9: Schemes Promoted by British Railways between 1974 and 1994
• Chapter 10: Channel Tunnel – 5/94 (Not a BR Scheme)
• Chapter 11: Schemes Started by BR and Finished Post-Privatisation
• Chapter 12: Post-Privatisation Schemes in England since 2003
• Chapter 13: Post-Privatisation Schemes in Scotland since 2005
• Chapter 14: London Overground
• Chapter 15: South Wales Metro
• Chapter 16: Electrification – The Economics and Politics
• Chapter 17: Achieving Sustainability, Decarbonisation and Affordability
• Chapter 18: Prospects for Electrification Projects Going Forward
• Appendix 1: Electrification OLE Information (courtesy of G. Keenor)
• Appendix 2: Geographical Description of the West Coast Main Line (WCML) Route and Electrification Dates
• Appendix 3: Reduced Clearances at the Cardiff Intersection Bridges
• Appendix 4: Electrification Reports and Documents
• Appendix 5: London Tilbury and Southend and Great Eastern Recollections – the Sparks Effect
• Appendix 6: Great Western Electrification Project – Monitoring Systems to Ensure Safe Track Lowering Works in Tunnels
• Appendix 7: National Electrification Efficiency Panel (NEEP) Initiatives
• Bibliography
• Abbreviations
• Acknowledgements
• Index
• Copyright