Railway Travel in World War Two

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Peter Steer, Steer

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Railroads--Great Britain.

Railroads.

World War, 1939-1945.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (272 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Casemate Publishers & Book Distributors, LLC 2024

Summary:

The popular image of railway travel during the Second World War is that of a sparse service of dirty and grossly overcrowded trains that were forever being delayed. The iconic 'is your journey really necessary' poster campaign is credited with discouraging the public from traveling by train. This book questions these assumptions and examines the mobility requirements of the British public during the war years and aligns these to the level of service provided by the railways. Throughout the war the railways were managed by the Railway Executive Committee (REC) whose members were all senior railway officers. The conflicts between the REC and the government in respect to controlling passenger numbers on the railway system, which was overcrowded with essential additional war related freight traffic, are examined; as are the propaganda campaigns aimed at restricting 'unnecessary' travel. The public's response to the travel restrictions are analyzed to determine how railway passengers' attitudes and reactions corresponded to the publicly accepted mythology. Many British citizens did reduce their railway journeys, but for others who had previously had little need to travel by train, the exigencies of war resulted in them having to make long and often difficult journeys by rail.

Contents:

Cover

Book Title page

Copyright page

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 War is Declared

Chapter 2 Making Way for the Essential Traffic

Chapter 3 Is Your Journey Really Necessary?

Chapter 4 Visiting the Evacuated Children

Plates Section

Chapter 5 Government Departments Move to the Provinces

Chapter 6 Railway Travel in the Early Years of the War

Chapter 7 Surviving the Blitz

Chapter 8 The Government’s Dilemma as Passenger Numbers Rise

Chapter 9 Travel by Service Personnel

Chapter 10 Time to Take a Holiday

Chapter 11 Towards Victory

Bibliography

Index

Back cover Generated by AI.

Notes:

Part of the metadata in this record was created by AI, based on the text of the resource.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781399063197

1399063197

OCLC:

1430663462