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"After a directive from the BRB to paint all motive power BR blue, on the 9th June 1966 the transformation of the entire BR fleet began......." |
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"After a directive from the BRB to paint all motive power BR blue, on the 9th June 1966 the transformation of the entire BR fleet began......." |
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Rail
Blue - |
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The
Rail Blue Gallery |
In
Close-up |
Preserved Diesels & Electrics |
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Revisited - 'Then & Now' |
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In 1955 the then British Transport Commission unveiled the 'Modernisation Programme'; an ambitious scheme to improve British Railways infrastructure, traction and services after the ravages of the then comparatively recent war years. Included in the plan was the replacement of steam locomotives with approximately 2,500 diesel and electric units, a move that brought about the 'first generation modern traction'. Further developments came in the 1960's when British Railways decided it needed a corporate identity. In 1966 the 'rail blue' era was born..... This website, as its name implies, mainly concentrates on those rail blue days, an era that spanned some fifteen years before it was gradually phased out with the onset of sectorisation and then finally, privitisation of Britain's railways. Included though, are several sections covering the pre-rail blue era; a collective record of that first generation diesel and electric traction. What you see here was initially meant to be purely a display of my own photographs, but after eight years the site has grown to over 2,000 pages with over 3,200 photographs, many of which have been contributed from private collections. Thanks go to all those people. Please don't expect to see professional quality images in the main gallery. These are, and intend to be, subjects taken by the rail enthusiasts of the time with a vast diversification of photographic equipment of that age, and as such give a perfect representation of the average 'trainspotters' eye with the limited, pre-digital, equipment available during the rail blue era. |
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Rail Blue is a
private venture and receives no financial contributions or monies for
its services whatsoever. Indeed, certain images on this site have been
obtained at the expense of myself from private collections and auction
sites. Captions to photographs/texts are merely my own comments and do
not represent any views of railway companies/historic railway centres/locomotive
owners mentioned. All photos/captions/features not credited to others
are copyright myself but may be used with my permission. Please ask. Contributed
photos remain the copyright of the owners and any contact information
given to the Rail Blue site will remain strictly confidential.
Rail Blue does not use any cookies or advertising popups.
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