Records created and inherited by British Railways Board and British Railways

Division within AN

1874-2000

Records of British Railways Board and British Railways, relating to all aspects of the establishment and operation of these services. The records include a signicant number of engineering and rolling stock records from the pre-nationalisation period, as well as other records:

• British Railways Board minutes AN 167; reports, accounts, memoranda AN 16, AN 19, AN 101, AN 166
• Chairman's papers, 1976-1983 (Sir Peter Parker) AN 215
• Members' papers AN 18
• Committee papers AN 21, AN 40
• Area Boards AN 116, AN 117, AN 118, AN 119, AN 168

Other Records:

Booklets, proformas, manuals of instruction and guidance for staff AN 122

Ceremonial and royalty AN 9, AN 10, AN 91

Charterail Ltd AN 204

Chief Mechanical and Electrical Engineer's Department AN 120, Chief Civil Engineer's Department AN 129, and Chief Operating Manager AN 106

Circulars AN 8, AN 153, and Directories AN 22

Commercial traffic AN 87

Controller Corporate Pensions and Co-ordinator Private Capital, C G Lewin AN 198

European business of Railfreight Distribution AN 207

Fares manuals AN 130, AN 135

Field Organisation review AN 124

Financial AN 121, AN 159

Holiday guides AN 17

InterCity AN 182

Legal Department library collection AN 123

Locomotive and rolling stock AN 7

London Rail Development Projects AN 203, AN 211

Nationalised Industry Computer Committee AN 113

Organising for Quality Office and Steering Group AN 197

Passenger instruction manuals AN 133

Passenger marketing services AN 173, AN 185

Photographs, posters AN 14

Press notices AN 79

Privatisation Standards Group AN 175

Privatisation Transitional Team archive AN 186

Property AN 169

Provincial Services sector AN 176

Public Relations and Publicity Department AN 111

Publicity AN 90

Railfreight Distribution AN 205

Rule books AN 94

Safety Directorate AN 208

Secretary's Department AN 192; digital records AN 214

Shipping and International Services Division (Sealink) AN 137

Statistics AN 20, AN 136

Surveys AN 82

Ticket examiners' handbooks AN 132

Training and education AN 110

Transportation Systems and Market Research Ltd (Transmark) AN 202

Travel agents manuals AN 134

Public Record(s)

English

• British Railways, 1948-1994
• British Railways Board, 1963-2001

94 series

Topics

Railways

Trade and commerce

Computing

Pay and pensions

Legal

The British Railways Board was established on 1 January 1963, following the Transport Act of 1962, which abolished the British Transport Commission. The British Railways Board was supported by six regional railway boards.

In addition to its main duty to provide railway services for the carriage of passengers and goods, the British Railways Board was also responsible for the associated road transport services and was required to co-operate with London Transport in the co-ordination of services in the London area. The board was also given powers, subject to ministerial approval, to provide certain shipping, air and hotel services.

Shipping was organised regionally until 1968, when the Shipping and International Services Division (Sealink) of the British Railways Board, was formed.

Between 1963 and 1969, track mileage in Britain was reduced by over 25%, the number of passenger stations, locomotive depots and the size of the carriage and wagon fleet each by around 40%, the locomotive fleet by 60% and goods yards and terminals by well over 70%. During the same period the number of people directly employed in the railway fell by 52%.

Under the Transport Act of 1968, the road freight interests of the British Railways Board were taken over by the National Freight Corporation. In 1979, the Shipping and International Services Division (Sealink) became a wholly owned company, Sealink UK, which was sold in 1984 to Sea Containers Ltd.

In 1994, with privatisation of the railway system in the UK, the British Railways Board ceased to have operational and executive function.