BW169

British Railways Board

Records of the British Railways Board: papers of the Chief Officer (Films) 1969-1971.

1969-1971

BW169

These records are available immediately for research

Following the abolition of the British Transport Commission under the 1962 Transport Act, five new public authorities were established to oversee the various aspects of the United Kingdom's transportation system. From 1 January 1963, the British Railways Board had authority over the country's nationalised rail system. Dr Richard Beeching, former Chairman of the British Transport Commission, was appointed Chairman of the British Railways Board. His report "The Reshaping of British Railways", published in 1963, led to many minor routes and stations being closed. The Board remained in existence until the privatisation of the rail network following the 1993 Railways Act. This saw most of the Board's activities divided, each being sold or fanchised. The remaining functions of the British Railways Board are now discharged by BRB (Residuary) Ltd. The company is owned by the Government and reports to the Department for Transport. As a residuary body, the company is responsible for discharging a variety of functions, including obligations in respect of liabilities acquired as a major employer over nearly half a century.

The Waterways Archive only holds records for the Chief Officer (Films), therefore this collection has been divided into one subfonds. It has not been possible to ascertain any original structure of record-keeping from the small number of records held within this subfonds. The subfonds has therefore been arranged in chronological order.