During WW2 the railway system in Britain was used heavily, and so it was of vital importance to keep the lines running effectively. The four main railway companies’ managements joined together, effectively becoming one company; London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), Great Western Railway (GWR), London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and Southern Railway (SR).
The railways system suffered greatly from the bombing by German Luftwaffe, especially around cities such as London and Coventry. These ‘before’ and ‘after’ images show the efficiency of the British railway companies in fixing lines that were damaged.
The damage was not as extensive as it was in other European countries such as France and Germany, whose whole railways systems had to be completely built. After the war this unwittingly gave these countries the opportunity to essentially re-build their railway systems from scratch, and dramatically modernise them. Something that Britain has not been able to do.
Source:
Bromley & District Times, 24th January 1941, page 6
