Robin Barnes (1)

In all human enterprises, there are plans that never come to fruition - the Board chose Plan A over Plan B, circumstances changed, what seemed like a good idea at the time turns out not to have been in the cold light of day, and so on. And it is so in the development of railway locomotives. A change in the Board may mean that some plans suddenly are favoured and others pass out of favour; a change in personnel in the Chief Mechanical Engineer's department may result in some approaches being dropped in favour of a new idea; or a new proposal might be seen as just too radical. This book looks at some of the options for railway traction on Britain's railways in the twentieth century that represent the path not taken.

Some forty or so plans are examined by Robin Barnes and illustrated by his own paintings. He had the assistance of E.S. Cox, who was chief assistant to R.A. Riddles, the last steam locomotive designer for British Railways. Designs range from articulated freight locomotives for the Midland Railway, a company seemingly wedded to the idea of small engines and looking to get the maximum amount of power from the work of one engine crew, through various exotic traction sources such as steam turbines and electric locomotives, to big express engines that never made it off the drawing board. In particular, some of the designs by William Raven for the North Eastern Railway as well as a number of Midland designs represent changes in direction following the "Grouping", the consolidation of Britain's 120 railway companies into four undertakings in 1923, resulting in a number of designers being demoted or discharged when their services were suddenly no longer required. In a number of cases, there were situations where larger express locomotives were not taken forward for a number of commercial reasons; so, for example, Fowler's 4-6-2 express LMS Pacific which did not meet the approval of the "Midland small-engine brigade" in the new company, leading to Fowler being overruled on the creation of the 'Royal Scot' 4-6-0s and the letting of the contract for their building entirely out to the North British Locomotive Co., or Hawksworth's class of 4-6-2 Pacific express locomotives for the Great Western, continuing and expanding upon the designs of the earlier "Castle" and "King" class 4-6-0 are covered. Also, the proposed British Railways Standard 8F 2-8-2 locomotive - the only one of the BR Standards not to be built - is covered.

Perhaps the most interesting proposal that was seriously considered by the LMS, and is covered here, was the proposal for the electrification of the former LNWR main line (today's West Coast main line) between Lancaster and Carlisle over the Cumbrian fells at Shap. This was suggested in the early days of the new company, using Swiss technology, and is illustrated by Barnes in the form of the depiction of a Swiss Ae 4/7 - an early electric locomotive with a profusion of bonnets, bus-bars and ventilating grilles - in fully lined LMS crimson livery, leaving Lancaster with the Royal Train for the north.

Barnes has a great fascination with "might-have-beens" of the railway world; this book is a fascinating source of speculation and pipe-dreams.… (meer)

Hitler wasn't a great fan of trains; he much preferred either motoring (the freedom of the road, with the great Autobahns planned and executed by the Organisation Todt), or aviation (see the opening shots of Riefenstahl's 'Triumph of the Will', with Hitler descending from the skies in his Junkers trimotor like some Wagnerian god). But above all, Hitler wanted to be seen as the Man of the Future, and recognising the essential part that Germany's railways played in the economy, he was quite happy for trains to have a place in the Greater German Reich.

Hitler's architectural fantasies are well known; less so are his plans for massive, three-metre gauge railways to connect the distant parts of the future Reich together. These railways, planned in quite meticulous detail, were to employ the latest technology and awe the subjects of the Reich into wonder at the achievements of National Socialism.

Of course, it all came to nothing. But the plans are intriguing; the trains, in particular, were designed to impress. The railway industry of the Reich put a lot of time into proposing designs for this scheme, though a lot of that must be put down to enlightened self-interest.

And by reading between the lines, the nature of the Greater German Reich can be teased out (if it were at all necessary). Pure Aryans would travel in palatial vehicles, with observation cars, bars, restaurants and cinemas; "Ostarbeiter" ("workers from the East") would be moved in coaches capable of carrying 480 people at once, convertible from day to night use and with basic facilities only. There can be no doubt that the new Germany would have based its class distinctions on race.

Robin Barnes has done a good job of research in a subject previously little known of. He has also illustrated some of the designs with paintings from his own hand. And lest anyone think that he has allowed himself to be a little carried away by all this, he does make this useful observation: "Do not confuse fascination with admiration."

(A second, expanded edition has, I understand, recently been published.)… (meer)