Locomotives and Rolling Stock sent Overseas.—A number of
locomotives under construction for various colonial and foreign railways
were commandeered by the Government and diverted for use in
France and elsewhere, while large orders were given for the building
of engines by British firms for use in France. A total of 247, of a
contemplated order for 500 of the 2-8-0 type alone, was
constructed. But to meet immediate needs it was necessary for British
railways to supply considerable numbers of engines from their own
stocks, mainly for France, though some went to Egypt, Mesopotamia,
and Salonika. The total locomotives thus supplied
numbered 675, of which the L. & N.W.R. provided in; G.W.R. 95;
M.R. 78; N.E.R. 50; G.C.R. 33; and G.N.R. 23; the remainder
being sent by other companies. In addition, 30,000 goods wagons
were sent overseas, together with 100 special wagons and 40 30-ton
coal wagons. The Great Central railway constructed six engines to
the design adopted for the War Department 2-8-0 locomotives
which were, in fact, substantially to G.C.R. designs; 2,500 20-ton
covered wagons were built in railway workshops.
Besides the standard-gauge rolling stock, large numbers of steam, petrol, and petrol-electric locomotives of small types, and wagons of various designs, for use on the light railways in France, were built by various firms, though not much of this work was done by the railway companies beyond the equipment of Ford cars as rail tractors at Crewe Works. A considerable amount of permanent way was, however, sent overseas by the home railway companies, partly by taking up certain light-traffic branch lines or by converting double lines to single track, and also to a considerable extent from stock. A great quantity of bridge parts, machinery, cranes and other material was also supplied from stock, while the equipment of the army railway workshops in France was largely provided by the various railway companies.
War Work in Railway Shops.—As already mentioned, this was undertaken to the value of about £17,000,000, and covered a wide range of products from ambulance stretchers, road vans and gun-carriages to the repair of cartridge cases and the production of shell cases, frequently of large sizes. Several travelling workshop trains were also equipped in the British railway shops. In a number of instances, too, railway companies undertook the repair of Belgian and other locomotives sent over from France.
The Railway Troops.—As already mentioned, a total of 184,475 men was released from railway service to join H.M. forces. They were largely utilized in the formation of, or transferred to, the various sections known generically as the Railway Troops attached to the Royal Engineers. A number of the companies were recruited mainly from the men of a particular railway, especially in the case of the L. & N.W.R. (115th) and the G.W.R. (116th, 262nd and 275th), while the 118th was recruited chiefly from the G.E. and N.E. railways. There were two principal sections, the Railway Construction Troops and the Railway Operating Division, the former numbering 35 companies and the latter 42½ companies, including those dealing with the light railways. Besides these there were Labour, Roads, Canadian Overseas Construction, Canadian Operating, S. African and Australian companies, bringing the total to 118½ companies. The various camp railways were also supplied from these bodies.
The Post-Armistice Period
On the cessation of active hostilities the pressure of war traffic at once eased, though it was some weeks before Government traffic materially decreased in volume. Necessarily, for some time afterwards the completion of work in hand and the traffic occasioned thereby kept the railways fairly busy, though with less urgency and strain. Leave travel was even more freely given, and the demobilization of the forces for many months placed a big strain upon the railways on the passenger side. National traffic on the goods side, too, remained heavy, as systems of control of food-stuffs, coal and necessities could not at once be discontinued, and was further complicated by the public call for the return of unrestricted transit conditions, for improvements in facilities, and for a resumption of the relative freedom of pre-war conditions. There were also tremendous arrears of construction and maintenance of railway permanent way and rolling stock to be overtaken.
Demobilization of the Forces.—This traffic was a very big thing in itself, and numerous special trains had to be run between the ports and the demobilization centres. It was estimated that 40,000 men would be dealt with daily, and that was about the number realized. But the effect of public pressure caused great irregularity, and, as a result, the railways had to deal with much of this traffic—which also included the dispersal journeys of men from the demobilization centres—as best they could. One dispersal depot alone thus dealt with over 1,000,000 men. Horses had also to be conveyed in large numbers, many being brought back in through trucks via the Channel train-ferries. Their sale, also the large traffic occasioned by the return of rolling stock and material from overseas, and the sale of army stocks of all kinds under the direction of the Disposals Board, added appreciably to the work of the railways.
Arrears of Maintenance and Construction.—The work thus involved was necessarily of great volume and expense. It entailed relaying of lines, repair and reconstruction of bridges, completion of deferred new works, repair of locomotives and rolling stock, and the construction of overdue replacements. In addition certain war extensions had to be dismantled, and workshops cleared of special machinery, and not a few new machines added in place of those which had become worn out. Public opinion ceased to look quite so favourably upon the large expenditure thus incurred. The companies had, of course, placed to reserve large sums in view of this work, but as they had been limited to net receipts on a pre-war basis, these were necessarily on pre-war standards, though usually with increases as far as practicable, whereas when the money had to be spent costs of materials and labour had increased approximately threefold. Agreements made between the Government and the companies provided for the difference being made up, but the amounts involved became so great that in Oct. 1920 a Committee was appointed to report upon these agreements. In large measure this was little more than a sop to public opinion, for the report of Lord Colwyn's Committee, as it is generally called, took little account of the merits of the case, and appeared mainly concerned with a solution which presented very much the appearance of repudiation of agreements when they became unpleasantly expensive. However, it was generally realized that these costs were the inevitable corollary to the great benefits, and actual profit as shown in a previous section, obtained by the nation from the railways during the war period; and a settlement was ultimately arrived at in May 1921, providing for the payment in two instalments of £60,000,000, after the termination of Government control in Aug. 1921. Until then the arrangements already adopted for monthly payments in respect of arrears of construction and maintenance were continued. This solution avoided much prospective litigation and represented a reasonable degree of give-and-take on both sides. The Colwyn Report suggested that a total of £156,000,000 would thus be involved, but this was given without data and was almost certainly overstated. Payments already made must be considered in conjunction with the £60,000,000 accepted in settlement. The corresponding amount agreed upon in respect of the Irish railways was £3,000,000.
Railway Guarantee and the Subsidy.—As Government traffic diminished in volume, and more and more national traffics were returned with de-control to private enterprise, the effect of the high cost of materials and supplies, and the generous wage and other concessions, quickly resulted in the railways requiring considerable subsidies. At the end of 1919 belated action was taken to increase railway charges to an economic level, the lack of which action had largely caused the very serious position which arose after the conclusion of active hostilities. Thus, whereas the amount of Government compensation in 1918 was £46,576,000, and the receipts, including the estimated value of Government traffic, £44,068,105 on account of railway working alone, for the year ended March 31 1920 the realized deficit amounted to £41,349,530, even after allowing for certain increases in charges which came into force during that period. And for the 1920-1 period the net Exchequer liability was estimated at £54,500,000.
Wage Concessions and Increased Costs.—These provide the chief explanation for the large subsidies entailed, expenses having risen nearly 200% and receipts an average of only 80% as compared with 1913, the year upon which the Government guarantee of net receipts was based. Thus the gross receipts, expenditure and net receipts for 1913, 1919 and 1920 were:—
| 1913 | 1919 | 1920 | |
| Gross Receipts | £129,194,000 | £226,363,000 | £298,249,000 |
| Expenditure | £83,385,000 | £180,098,000 | £251,575,000 |
| Net Receipts (Railway) | £45,809,000 | £46,265,000 | £46,674,000 |
