The Railway Magazine - January 1959

[rogerfarnworth]

This article gives a quick review of the January 1959 issue of the Railway Magazine. …

Starting with the Editorial Notes. ....

Editorial Notes
Looking back at past editorials in The Railway Magazine highlights the ongoing debate at the time over the best form of terrestrial travel – road -v- rail.

In the January 1959 issue of the magazine, which saw O.S. Nock assuming the authorship of the long running monthly article, ‘Locomotive Practice and Performance’, the editorial focussed on:

Road and Rail Fares and Services
Public Reliance on Railways
First British AC Electric Locomotive

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/12/31/the-railway-magazine-january-1959-volume-105-no-693/

[Maletrain]

Having driven to Montana from DC in 1962 and taken the same trip by train in 1968, I preferred the train. 

But, things quickly got different after that.

[rogerfarnworth]

Back then in the UK much fewer people had cars but motorways were virtually non-existent and car-travel times could be very high with long queues on main roads heading for holiday destinations.

[rogerfarnworth]

Developments in Freight Transport – The Railway Magazine – January 1959

A, then, recent exhibition at Battersea Wharf Goods Depot of British Railways and British Road Services freight vehicles and handling equipment prompted a review in The Railway Magazine of January 1959, of developments in the handling of freight. The emphasis of the exhibition was on the improvement of door-to-door services. It was part of the broader Modernisation and Re-Equipment of the British Railways plan launched in 1954, which sought to modernize and improve freight services in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The Freight Transport Exhibition at Battersea Wharf Goods Depot in London was held from 28th–30th October 1958. It was a major showcase organized by the British Transport Commission.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2026/03/20/developments-in-freight-transport-the-railway-magazine-january-1959/