Reporting of Electrification Schemes, Etc

[euryalus]

I was thinking the other day about how standards seem to have declined in relation to railway publishing and, in particular, in terms of railway magazine articles. For example in the case of railway electrification projects in the 1960s, The Railway Magazine would always provide very detailed coverage. The Bournemouth electrification scheme produced around half a dozen detailed articles, not just about the new infrastructure but also about signallling and rolling stock. Compare that with the same magazine's meagre reporting of the Leeds-Slipton-Bradford scheme; did the Railway Magazine produce ANY articles on that particular project? I don't remember any.

 

[Carlisle]

I was thinking the other day about how standards seem to have declined in relation to railway publishing and, in particular, in terms of railway magazine articles. For example in the case of railway electrification projects in the 1960s, The Railway Magazine would always provide very detailed coverage. The Bournemouth electrification scheme produced around half a dozen detailed articles, not just about the new infrastructure but also about signallling and rolling stock. Compare that with the same magazine's meagre reporting of the Leeds-Slipton-Bradford scheme; did the Railway Magazine produce ANY articles on that particular project? I don't remember any.

Possibly in those days it was a world less obsessed with slick polished PR, commercial confidentiality and data protection so senor BR management was more willing to confide with certain journalists. I also remember around that era the launch of a newly electrified service was usually accompanied by an associated open or gala day, like Ayr railfair etc

 

[euryalus]

That may be part of the problem - there may also have been a bias against reporting northern lines in magazines such as Railway World and the Railway Magazine. Having said that, was there ever a formal opening day for the Leeds North Western Electrification scheme?