112-464: Rail Express Systems (RES) was a sector of British Rail . This sector was responsible for transport of mail and parcels, including the travelling post office trains, as well as taking over charter operations from InterCity and haulage of the Royal Train . RES had been created out of a policy of Sectorisation , its functions previously being undertaken as an integral element of British Rail in
224-563: A Europa League game in 2014. Motherwell hosted motorcycle speedway racing at two venues. In 1930 and 1932 racing took place at Airbles Road which would soon be called the Clyde Valley Greyhound Track and the 1930 speedway venture was known as Paragon Speedway . The venture was run by a group of riders who were regulars at White City in Glasgow and known collectively as The Blantyre Crowd . Speedway returned to
336-467: A " Whites only " recruitment policy for guards at Euston station agreed between the local union branch and station management was dropped after the case of Asquith Xavier , a migrant from Dominica , who had been refused promotion on those grounds, was raised in Parliament and taken up by the then Secretary of State for Transport, Barbara Castle . Passenger levels decreased steadily from 1962 to
448-521: A "network for development"; the fate of the rest of the network was not discussed in the report. The basis for calculating passenger fares changed in 1964. In future, fares on some routes—such as rural, holiday and commuter services—would be set at a higher level than on other routes; previously, fares had been calculated using a simple rate for the distance travelled, which at the time was 3 d per mile second class, and 4½d per mile first class (equivalent to £0.32 and £0.48 respectively, in 2023 ). In 1966,
560-615: A 13-year deal with RES to operate the trains from this new hub, also referred to as the London Distribution Centre or the Princess Royal Distribution Centre , at Stonebridge Park , near Wembley . Furthermore, RM commissioned ABB to manufacture 16 four-car British Rail Class 325 electric multiple units, which were designed exclusively for the transport of mail. During RES's existence, there were numerous operational changes made in
672-485: A Corporate Identity Manual which established a coherent brand and design standard for the whole organisation, specifying Rail Blue and pearl grey as the standard colour scheme for all rolling stock; Rail Alphabet as the standard corporate typeface, designed by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert ; and introducing the now-iconic corporate Identity Symbol of the Double Arrow logo. Designed by Gerald Barney (also of
784-411: A committee chaired by Sir David Serpell was published in 1983. The Serpell Report made no recommendations as such but did set out various options for the network, including, at their most extreme, a skeletal system of less than 2,000 route km (1,240 miles). The report was received with hostility within several circles, which included figures within the government, as well as amongst
896-560: A direct daily service between London King's Cross and Glasgow Central that stops at Motherwell. The smaller station in the Airbles suburb of Motherwell only runs on the line to Dalmuir via Glasgow Central low level and Hamilton Central ; however, it is closer to the Civic Centre and Fir Park stadium than the main-line station. That station is served by Abellio ScotRail. Formerly, Motherwell, Wishaw and Hamilton were served by
1008-552: A disused airfield in Balado , Kinross-shire. It houses Roman bath ruins, in said park, and is a 2 hour drive away from some remnants of Hadrians Wall. Motherwell is the headquarters for both North Lanarkshire Council , which is one of Scotland's most populous local authority areas , and of Police Scotland "Q" division. These organisations cover an overall population of 327,000 people (59,000 in Motherwell and Wishaw ) throughout
1120-748: A few years, Ravenscraig was producing more than a million tonnes of steel per year. Following nationalisation of the steel industry, production at the plant was raised, with the Motherwell blast furnaces producing 3 million tonnes each year. 40 locals from Lanarkshire travelled to become volunteers of the International Brigades to fight for the Republican cause in the Spanish Civil War . The Spanish Civil War memorial in Duchess Park in Motherwell commemorates them. By
1232-437: A grander logo for the railways. BR's second corporate logo (1956–1965), designed in consultation with Charles Franklyn and inspired by the much more detailed BTC crest, depicted a rampant lion emerging from a heraldic crown and holding a spoked wheel, all enclosed in a roundel with the "British Railways" name displayed across a bar on either side. This emblem soon acquired the nickname of the "Ferret and Dartboard". A variant of
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#17327657502801344-414: A lack of standardisation. At the same time, containerised freight was being developed. The marshalling yard building programme was a failure, being based on a belief in the continued viability of wagon-load traffic in the face of increasingly effective road competition, and lacking effective forward planning or realistic assessments of future freight. A 2002 documentary broadcast on BBC Radio 4 blamed
1456-539: A large fanbase due to the attraction of Glasgow's "Old Firm": Rangers and Celtic . The team attracts a regular home support of between five and six thousand fans. Motherwell is one of the most established clubs in the top division of the Scottish football league system , having been in the top flight continuously since the mid-80s. Again, due to the Old Firm's dominance of Scottish football, Motherwell's list of honours
1568-592: A new focus of its operations on the specific needs of its primary customer, the Royal Mail (RM). During October 1991, RES was officially launched at Crewe Diesel TMD . For this event, examples of Class 08 , 47 , 86 and 90 locomotives were painted into a new livery of red, with a grey upper band, and light blue and grey flashes. The light blue and grey flashes represent a set of stylised eagle's wings. The sector had maintenance depots at Crewe, Bristol Barton Hill , Cambridge and Euston Downside . Rolling stock
1680-477: A platform of revising many of the cuts, Tom Fraser instead authorised the closure 1,071 mi of railway lines, following the recommendations from the Beeching Report even lines not considered closing. After he resigned in 1967, his replacement Barbara Castle continued the line and station closures but introduced the first Government rail subsidies for socially necessary but unprofitable railways in
1792-531: A population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarkshire , Motherwell is the headquarters for North Lanarkshire Council . Geographically the River Clyde separates Motherwell from Hamilton to the west whereas the South Calder Water separates Motherwell from Carfin to the north-east and New Stevenston and Bellshill towards the north. Motherwell
1904-752: A private heritage railway. Other preserved lines, or heritage railways , have reopened lines previously closed by British Rail. These range from picturesque rural branch lines like the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway to sections of mainline such as the Great Central Railway . Many have links to the National Rail network, both at station interchanges, for example, the Severn Valley Railway between Kidderminster and Kidderminster Town , and physical rail connections like
2016-543: A programme of closures began almost immediately after nationalisation. However, the general financial position of BR became gradually poorer until an operating loss was recorded in 1955. The Executive itself had been abolished in 1953 by the Conservative government, and control of BR transferred to the parent Commission. Other changes to the British Transport Commission at the same time included
2128-568: A school roll of around 1,000 pupils. Notable alumni of Dalziel include former Motherwell, Wigan and Rangers player Lee McCulloch and international television journalist, Alan Fisher . Braidhurst High School , in the Forgewood area of Motherwell, serves areas including Forgewood, North Motherwell , The Globe and Jerviston. With a roll of around 500, Braidhurst is one of the smaller secondary schools in Lanarkshire. The main school building
2240-453: A series of electric multiple units built exclusively for moving mail. During the mid-1990s, RES implemented a £150 million strategy that focused on long-distance services that worked in conjunction with a central hub based in London at its heart, known as Railnet . As a consequence, many stations had their mail services permanently withdrawn as they were redirected to a series of hubs across
2352-474: A working railway, in 1948 the line was principally a tourist attraction . British Rail operated the line using steam locomotives long after the withdrawal of standard-gauge steam. The line's three steam locomotives were the only ones to receive TOPS serial numbers and be painted in BR Rail Blue livery with the double arrow logo. The Vale of Rheidol Railway was privatised in 1989 and continues to operate as
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#17327657502802464-546: A year later when the BTC was abolished the name of the force was amended to the British Transport Police. This name and its role within policing on the rail network was continued post-1994. Despite its nationalisation in 1947 "as one of the 'commanding heights' of the economy", according to some sources British Rail was not profitable for most (if not all) of its history. Newspapers reported that as recently as
2576-476: Is a cycle path that acts as a direct route from Strathclyde Park to Motherwell Town Centre. The path was formed in 2005 and may expand into Ravenscraig in the future. Motherwell has a golf course based within the town, the Colville Park Golf Club, based at Jerviston Estate, on the former site of Jerviston House (the ruins are still visible in the grounds). A second golf course is located at
2688-652: Is also geographically attached to Wishaw and the two towns form a large urban area in North Lanarkshire , with both towns having similar populations and strong community ties. A Roman road through central Scotland ran along Motherwell's side of the River Clyde , crossing the South Calder Water near Bothwellhaugh . At this crossing a fort and bath house were erected, but the Roman presence in Scotland did not last much later than this. Motherwell's location in
2800-475: Is situated to the south of the town, right on the banks of the River Clyde . This house is protected as a Category-A listed building. One of the main attractions in Motherwell is the M & D's Amusement Park , which is situated next to Strathclyde Loch in Strathclyde Park . The Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Good Aid, popularly known as Motherwell Cathedral , is a Roman Catholic cathedral which
2912-525: Is somewhat modest. The club's last major trophy was the 1990–91 Scottish Cup , when they beat Dundee United 4–3 in the final . Motherwell have qualified for European football several times in recent seasons, usually competing in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Europa League . It has been reported that the famous Viking Thunder Clap originated from Motherwell F.C. and was passed onto Icelandic football club Stjarnan when they played them in
3024-857: Is the Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell . It is the seat of the Bishop of Motherwell and its current bishop is Joseph Toal . The cathedral is open to the public most days. It is used as a venue for performances of the Motherwell Diocesan Choir. The following primary schools are located in Motherwell: Dalziel High School is located on Crawford Street near Duchess park, serving areas including North Motherwell, The Globe, Greenacres, Airbles and North Lodge. and has
3136-527: Is the headquarters of North Lanarkshire Council (since 1996, previously the offices of Motherwell District Council within the Strathclyde region since 1975). A number of pantomimes and musicals have taken place in the concert hall and theatre within the complex. As well as this, top-level snooker (the Scottish Masters event) was also held there. The Dalzell House is a building that
3248-689: The Beeching cuts . Trunk routes were considered to be the most important, and so electrification of the Great Eastern Main Line from London to Norwich was completed between 1976 and 1986 and on the East Coast Main Line from London to Edinburgh between 1985 and 1990. Train manufacturer British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) produced the capable InterCity 125 and Sprinter sets, the introduction of which improved intercity and regional railways, respectively, as well as
3360-534: The Big Four British railway companies along with some other (but not all) smaller railways. Profitability of the railways became a pressing concern during the 1950s, leading to multiple efforts to bolster performance, including some line closures. The 1955 Modernisation Plan formally directed a process of dieselisation and electrification to take place; accordingly, steam locomotives had been entirely replaced by diesel and electric traction (except for
3472-689: The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the Southern Railway (SR). During World War I , the railways were under state control, which continued until 1921. Complete nationalisation had been considered, and the Railways Act 1921 is sometimes considered as a precursor to that, but the concept was rejected. Nationalisation was subsequently carried out after World War II , under the Transport Act 1947 . This Act made provision for
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3584-528: The M8 motorway , between the two largest cities of Scotland, Glasgow and Edinburgh. In the future, there are plans to build a dual carriageway, that will travel through the town linking the two motorways. There are a number of different bus companies that travel through the town to various different locations. Some examples include First (Routes 201, 240, 242, 254 and 355), JMB Travel (Routes 41, 56, 211 and 802), Whitelaws Coaches and United Coaches (Route 1). Some of
3696-635: The Newcastle Diamonds in 1951, and he was supported by Gordon McGregor who was a founder Eagle. Eagles also featured Aussies Keith Gurtner and Ron Phillips who moved over when Ashfield left the League. Popular Australian Noel Watson was killed in his home country in 1953. However, due to his "never say die" approach, the fans' favourite was Bluey (Eric) Scott, who joined the Eagles in 1951. The pioneer Eagles featured Bill Baird from Forth who became
3808-621: The Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway . The London Underground also became publicly owned, becoming the London Transport Executive of the British Transport Commission. The Bicester Military Railway was already run by the government. The electric Liverpool Overhead Railway was also excluded from nationalisation . The Railway Executive was conscious that some lines on the (then very dense) network were unprofitable and hard to justify socially, and
3920-511: The Railway Executive . The Executive attempted to introduce a modern Art Deco -style curved logo, which could also serve as the standard for station signage totems. BR eventually adopted the common branding of the BTC as its first corporate logo, a lion astride a spoked wheel, designed for the BTC by Cecil Thomas ; on the bar overlaid across the wheel, the BTC's name was replaced with the words "British Railways". This logo, nicknamed
4032-711: The Scottish Lowlands means that it would have been inhabited by the Britons . Motherwell's name reportedly comes from a well, the Lady Well, formerly dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The site of this well is now marked by a plaque on Ladywell Road. The name "Moderwelt" appears on a map of Lanarkshire made by Timothy Pont some time between 1583 and 1611 and printed in the Netherlands in around 1652. By
4144-639: The Secretary of State for Transport , and is now employed as a generic symbol on street signs in Great Britain denoting railway stations. The rail transport system in Great Britain developed during the 19th century. After the grouping of 1923 under the Railways Act 1921 , there were four large railway companies, each dominating its own geographic area: the Great Western Railway (GWR), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS),
4256-417: The Transport Act 1968 . Part of these provisions was the creation of a passenger transport executive or PTE within larger metropolitan areas. Prior to this, public transport was run by individual local authorities and private companies, with little co-ordination. The PTEs took over the responsibility (but not ownership) of managing local rail networks. The 1968 Act created five new bodies. These were: This
4368-522: The Watercress Line at Alton . Although most are operated solely as leisure amenities, some also provide educational resources, and a few have ambitions to restore commercial services over routes abandoned by the nationalised industry. Motherwell Motherwell ( Scots : Mitherwall , Scottish Gaelic : Tobar na Màthar ) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire , Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow . It has
4480-476: The narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway tourist line) by 1968. On 1 January 1963, the British Railways Board was created to manage the railways as a successor to the British Transport Commission. It was during the 1960s that perhaps the most substantial changes were made. Seeking to reduce rail subsidies , one-third of the network and over half of all stations were permanently closed under
4592-484: The privatisation of British Rail . Following completion of the privatisation process in 1997, responsibility for track, signalling and stations was transferred to Railtrack (later brought under public control as Network Rail ) while services were run by a variety of train operating companies . At the end of the process, any remaining obligations of British Rail were transferred to BRB (Residuary) Limited . The British Rail Double Arrow logo remains in place, now owned by
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4704-582: The town's Country Park , The North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre , formerly the Motherwell Heritage Centre on High Road, situated next to the town's railway station, is a building that displays the history of Motherwell from the Roman era. The building also has a viewing tower on the fifth floor, giving visitors a good view of the town and other parts of Lanarkshire, as well as of mountains as far back as Ben Lomond . Motherwell Civic Centre
4816-604: The "Cycling Lion", was applied from 1948 to 1956 to the sides of locomotives, while the ‘hot dog’ design was adopted for smaller station name signs, known officially as ‘lamp tablets’ and coloured for the appropriate BR region, using Gill Sans lettering first adopted by the LNER from 1929. In 1956, the BTC was granted a heraldic achievement by the College of Arms and the Lord Lyon , and then BTC chairman Brian Robertson wanted
4928-475: The 183 square miles (470 km ) of North Lanarkshire. Motherwell was noted as the steel production capital of Scotland, nicknamed Steelopolis , home of David Colville & Sons during the 19th and 20th centuries, with its skyline later dominated by the water tower and three cooling towers of their Ravenscraig steelworks which closed in 1992. The Ravenscraig plant had one of the longest continuous casting , hot rolling , steel production facilities in
5040-401: The 1950s decisions for the "beleaguered" condition of the railway system at that time. During the late 1950s, railway finances continued to worsen; whilst passenger numbers grew after restoring many services reduced during the war, and in 1959 the government stepped in, limiting the amount the BTC could spend without ministerial authority. A White Paper proposing reorganisation was published in
5152-534: The 1955 programme (costing £1.2 billion), but did so largely for political reasons. This included the withdrawal of steam traction and its replacement by diesel (and some electric) locomotives. Not all modernisations would be effective at reducing costs. The dieselisation programme gave contracts primarily to British suppliers, who had limited experience of diesel locomotive manufacture, and rushed commissioning based on an expectation of rapid electrification; this resulted in numbers of locomotives with poor designs and
5264-503: The 1980s. Initially known simply as the Parcels Sector , it was decided to re-brand it as Rail Express Systems during late 1991. The entity's management team sought to improve the economics of its operations and to better satisfy its customer's needs, the principal one being the Royal Mail . Thus, various initiatives were undertaken, including the procurement of new rolling stock in the form of 16 four-car British Rail Class 325 ,
5376-588: The 1990s, public rail subsidy was counted as profit; as early as 1961, British Railways were losing £300,000 a day. Although the company was considered the sole public-transport option in many rural areas, the Beeching cuts made buses the only public transport available in some rural areas. Despite increases in traffic congestion and road fuel prices beginning to rise in the 1990s, British Rail remained unprofitable. Following sectorisation, InterCity became profitable. InterCity became one of Britain's top 150 companies, providing city centre to city centre travel across
5488-424: The 7,000 stations would close. Beeching, who is thought to have been the author of most of the report, set out some dire figures. One third of the network was carrying just 1% of the traffic. Of the 18,000 passenger coaches, 6,000 were said to be used only 18 times a year or less. Although maintaining them cost between £3 million and £4 million a year, they earned only about £0.5 million. Most of
5600-797: The Beeching cuts a generation earlier but which had seen passenger services withdrawn. This included the bulk of the Chester and Connah's Quay Railway in 1992, the Brierley Hill to Walsall section of the South Staffordshire line in 1993, while the Birmingham to Wolverhampton section of the Great Western Railway was closed in three phases between 1972 and 1992. Following the election of Labour in 1964, on
5712-458: The DRU), this arrow device was formed of two interlocked arrows across two parallel lines, symbolising a double-track railway. It was likened to a bolt of lightning or barbed wire , and also acquired a nickname: "the arrow of indecision". A mirror image of the double arrow was used on the port side of BR-owned Sealink ferry funnels. The new BR corporate identity and double arrow were displayed at
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#17327657502805824-545: The Design Centre in London in early 1965, and the brand name of the organisation was shortened to "British Rail". It is now employed as a generic symbol on street signs in Great Britain denoting railway stations, and is still printed on railway tickets as part of the Rail Delivery Group 's jointly managed National Rail brand. The uniformity of BR branding continued until the process of sectorisation
5936-556: The Double Arrow symbol, which has survived to this day and serves as a generic trademark to denote railway services across Great Britain. The BR Corporate Identity Manual is noted as a piece of British design history and there are plans for it to be re-published. With its creation in 1948, British Railways was divided into regions which were initially based on the areas the former Big Four operated in; later, several lines were transferred between regions. Notably, these included
6048-550: The East Coast Main Line via Edinburgh and Newcastle , and is located next to Motherwell Shopping Centre . National train operators; Avanti West Coast , CrossCountry and TransPennine Express , pass through the main station, but not all stop there. The station is also served by Abellio ScotRail who provide direct services to Carstairs, Coatbridge Central, Cumbernauld, Dalmuir, Edinburgh, Lanark, Milngavie and North Berwick. London North Eastern Railway also provide
6160-518: The Lanarkshire Tramways (closed 1931), which were connected to the very large Glasgow electric tramway system (closed 1962) at both Cambuslang and Uddingston. At its maximum extent, the 200-mile system extended to Balloch, Milngavie, Airdrie, Larkhall, Clarkston, Barrhead, Kilbarchan and Renfrew, besides providing a dense network of lines offering pollution-free electric transport in the city centre. The (now defunct) firm of Hurst Nelson
6272-613: The London area; Provincial (renamed Regional Railways in 1989) responsible for all other passenger services. In the metropolitan counties local services were managed by the Passenger Transport Executives . Provincial was the most subsidised (per passenger km) of the three sectors; upon formation, its costs were four times its revenue . During the 1980s British Rail ran the Rail Riders membership club aimed at 5- to 15-year-olds. Because British Railways
6384-664: The Motherwell area (though outside the boundaries of the town itself) include Brannock High School in Newarthill , Taylor R.C. High School in New Stevenston and Clyde Valley High School in Overtown . The nearest private school is Hamilton College in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire . Another former pupil of Garrion Academy, (later Clyde Valley High School), Deborah Orr, became an award winning journalist in London &
6496-555: The Rail Express Systems fleet, with the cessation of the usage of Class 105s by 1987, Class 114s by 1990, Class 120s by 1987, Class 127s by 1989, Class 128s by 1990, Class 302s by 1996 and Class 308s by 1989. In the same period, Class 325 EMUs were introduced and the entire parcels and mails fleet (except the travelling post office stock) was refurbished or withdrawn. British Rail British Railways ( BR ), which from 1965 traded as British Rail ,
6608-577: The UK using one of the machines was at Upminster station on 21 March 2007. Before the rail network was privatised, British Rail introduced several discount cards through the APTIS that were available to certain demographics, issued either by National or Regional schemes: The narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway in Ceredigion, Wales, became part of British Railways at nationalisation. Although built as
6720-552: The closures were carried out between 1963 and 1970 (including some which were not listed in the report), while other suggested closures were not carried out. The closures were heavily criticised at the time. A small number of stations and lines closed under the Beeching programme have been reopened, with further reopenings proposed. A second Beeching report, "The Development of the Major Trunk Routes", followed in 1965. This did not recommend closures as such but outlined
6832-442: The country; the final mail train services departed King's Cross, Euston, Liverpool Street and Paddington stations on 27 September 1996. As a result of the privatisation of British Rail during the mid-1990s, RES was put up for sale to the private sector. Following a competitive bidding process, the entity was purchased entirely by the recently created railway freight operator English Welsh & Scottish (EWS); shortly thereafter, RES
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#17327657502806944-450: The early 1970s. Tickets issued from British Rail's APTIS system had a considerable amount of information presented in a consistent, standard format. The design for all tickets was created by Colin Goodall . This format has formed the basis for all subsequent ticket issuing systems introduced on the railway network – ticket-office-based, self-service and conductor-operated machines alike. APTIS survived in widespread use for twenty years but, in
7056-442: The early 1990s): In addition, the non-passenger sectors were: The maintenance and remaining engineering works were split off into a new company, British Rail Maintenance Limited . The new sectors were further subdivided into divisions. This ended the BR blue period as new liveries were adopted gradually. Infrastructure remained the responsibility of the regions until the "Organisation for Quality" initiative in 1991 when this too
7168-432: The early 2000s, was largely replaced by more modern PC-based ticketing systems. Some APTIS machines in the Greater London area were modified as APTIS-ANT (with no obvious difference to the ticket issued) to make them Oyster card compatible. The last APTIS machines were removed at the end of 2006 as there was no option to upgrade them to accept Chip and PIN credit card payments. The last APTIS-ANT ticket to be issued in
7280-418: The end of the 1980s. Ravenscraig closed on 24 June 1992, and was demolished in July 1996, bringing 400 years of Scottish iron production to an end. Today the Dalzell Plate Mill is all that remains of Motherwell's industrial heritage, rolling steel from Middlesbrough into steel plates of various sizes. By the start of the 21st century Motherwell had begun to transform itself with the service industry thriving,
7392-429: The faster delivery of mail to distant destinations, necessitated the streamlining of both mail pick-ups and drop-offs, a policy which resulted in many intermediate locations seeing the permanently withdrawn of coverage by RES services. Instead, mail was to be transported by road to the 45 stations that would be served by the remaining mail trains. Despite this, the increasing efficiency of mechanical sorting in comparison to
7504-402: The figures in both this and the original plan were produced for political reasons and not based on detailed analysis. The aim was to increase speed, reliability, safety, and line capacity through a series of measures that would make services more attractive to passengers and freight operators, thus recovering traffic lost to the roads. Important areas included: The government appeared to endorse
7616-410: The following year, and a new structure was brought into effect by the Transport Act 1962. This abolished the commission and replaced it by several separate boards. These included a British Railways Board, which took over on 1 January 1963. Following semi-secret discussions on railway finances by the government-appointed Stedeford Committee in 1961, one of its members, Dr Richard Beeching , was offered
7728-437: The former Great Central lines from the Eastern Region to the London Midland Region, and the West of England Main Line from the Southern Region to Western Region The North Eastern Region was merged with the Eastern Region in 1967. In 1982, the regions were abolished as the service provider (but retained for administration) and replaced by "business sectors", a process known as sectorisation . The passenger sectors were (by
7840-415: The four old railway police forces, the London Transport Police, canal police and several minor dock forces. In 1957 the Maxwell-Johnson enquiry found that policing requirements for the railway could not be met by civil forces and that it was essential that a specialist police force be retained. On 1 January 1962, the British Transport Commission Police ceased to cover British Waterways property and exactly
7952-400: The go-ahead, including the East Coast Main Line , the spur from Doncaster to Leeds , and the lines in East Anglia out of London Liverpool Street to Norwich and King's Lynn . The list with approximate completion dates includes: In the Southwest, the South West Main Line from Bournemouth to Weymouth was electrified along with other infill 750 V DC third rail electrification in
8064-510: The hand sorting methods used onboard RES' fleet of travelling post offices (TPOs) meant that the latter was becoming increasingly uneconomic regardless of the structural changes being made. As part of the privatisation of British Rail , RES was the first freight company put up for sale, with bids lodged by Freightliner , a management buyout , Serco and a Wisconsin Central led a consortium known as North and South railways. The latter's bid
8176-508: The hub instead. Accordingly, the final mail train services departed King's Cross, Euston, Liverpool Street and Paddington stations on 27 September 1996. In place of passenger stations, these services were directly to a number of mail hubs at strategic locations; these were: Shieldmuir ( Motherwell ), Low Fell ( Gateshead ), Warrington , Doncaster , Bristol Parkway , Tonbridge and Wembley PRDC (London) as well as dedicated platforms at Stafford . The restructuring of services, intended to enable
8288-512: The large scale unemployment of the previous twenty years had been largely remedied. Through the expansion of both towns, Motherwell and Wishaw are now effectively one continuous urban area, although the towns remain distinct. Motherwell hosted the National Mòd in 1983. Strathclyde Park previously hosted the major Scottish music festival, T in the Park , until 1996, when it was moved to
8400-515: The late 1970s, and reached a low in 1982. Network improvements included completing electrification of the Great Eastern Main Line from London to Norwich between 1976 and 1986 and the East Coast Main Line from London to Edinburgh between 1985 and 1990. A mainline route closure during this period of relative network stability was the 1,500 V DC -electrified Woodhead line between Manchester and Sheffield : passenger service ceased in 1970 and goods in 1981. A further British Rail report from
8512-483: The logo with the name in a circle was also used on locomotives. The zeal for modernisation in the Beeching era drove the next rebranding exercise, and BR management wished to divest the organisation of anachronistic, heraldic motifs and develop a corporate identity to rival that of London Transport . BR's design panel set up a working party led by Milner Gray of the Design Research Unit . They drew up
8624-437: The long track and one on the short track – in 1972. Derrick Close represented Lanarkshire Eagles and England in the 1952 Speedway World Championship Final. He was the third Scottish based rider to achieve this feat after Ken Le Breton ( Ashfield Giants and Australia) in 1949 and Jack Young ( Edinburgh Monarchs and Australia) in 1950 and 1951. Motherwell had two greyhound tracks in the town. The first opened in 1932 and
8736-465: The middle of the 1970s, Motherwell's steel industry employed more than 13,000 people. The 1980s brought a catastrophic collapse in the industry of Motherwell. The steel strike of 1980 lost British Steel Corporation important contracts and markets, followed by the closure of important local customers such as the Linwood car factory and Bathgate truck factory, Ravenscraig employed only 3,200 people by
8848-402: The nation from Aberdeen and Inverness in the north to Poole and Penzance in the south. In 1979, the incoming Conservative Government led by Margaret Thatcher was viewed as anti-railway, and did not want to commit public money to the railways. However, British Rail was allowed to spend its own money with government approval. This led to a number of electrification projects being given
8960-664: The nationalisation of the network as part of a policy of nationalising public services by Clement Attlee 's Labour Government. British Railways came into existence as the business name of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission (BTC) on 1 January 1948 when it took over the assets of the Big Four. There were also joint railways between the Big Four and a few light railways to consider (see list of constituents of British Railways ). Excluded from nationalisation were industrial lines like
9072-493: The new building is approximately 20,000 students. The former site at Barons Grange is now being regenerated into a modern housing area. Motherwell Football Club was established in 1886. Known as the "Steelmen" because of the history of steel making in the area, they play in the Scottish Premiership from their home ground at Fir Park Stadium. Like many smaller clubs in the area, Motherwell struggle to attract
9184-461: The only rider to ride for all four Scottish teams. Tommy Miller, one of the top Scottish speedway stars of the day, joined the Eagles in 1954 but moved on to the Coventry Bees mid-season. A short season in 1958 under former Glasgow Tigers promoter Ian Hoskins saw the end of the events at The Stadium but a short lived Long Track venture and a small speedway track staged four events – three on
9296-528: The places that can be accessible by bus from Motherwell: The three acute hospitals in Lanarkshire can also be reached by bus from Motherwell: Since the M74 Extension has been completed, access to Glasgow Airport has become easier. The airport is approximately 16 miles (26 km) away from Motherwell. Edinburgh Airport is further away, at 31 miles (50 km), and can be reached by the M8. As well as
9408-696: The post of chairing the BTC while it lasted and then became the first Chairman of the British Railways Board. A major traffic census in April 1961, which lasted one week, was used in the compilation of a report on the future of the network. This report – The Reshaping of British Railways – was published by the BRB in March 1963. The proposals, which became known as the Beeching cuts , were dramatic. A third of all passenger services and more than 4,000 of
9520-488: The public. The reaction was so strong that Margaret Thatcher , Prime Minister at that time, stated that decisions on the report would not immediately be taken. The Serpell report was quietly shelved, although the British Government was periodically accused by its opponents of implementing the report via stealth for some years thereafter. The 1980s and 1990s saw the closure of some railways which had survived
9632-494: The region. Large employers include William Grant & Sons whisky distillers and the heavy equipment manufacturer Volvo Construction Equipment /Rokbak. Motherwell has been a Fairtrade Town since January 2007. The town has three stations, a main railway station (known simply as Motherwell), Airbles and Shieldmuir . The main station runs on the West Coast Main Line from Glasgow to London and on
9744-458: The return of road haulage to the private sector; however, BR retained its own (smaller) in-house road haulage service. The report, latterly known as the "Modernisation Plan", was published in January 1955. It was intended to bring the railway system into the 20th century. A government White Paper produced in 1956 stated that modernisation would help eliminate BR's financial deficit by 1962, but
9856-432: The rolling stock it had inherited from its predecessor railway companies. Initially, an express blue (followed by GWR -style Brunswick green in 1952) was used on passenger locomotives, and LNWR -style lined black for mixed-traffic locomotives, but later green was more widely adopted. Development of a corporate identity for the organisation was hampered by the competing ambitions of the British Transport Commission and
9968-590: The safety of staff, as there was little consideration towards the crashworthiness or the wellbeing of the TPO's occupants in the event of a major accident. Furthermore, the Royal Mail had increasingly decided to make use of other means of transporting mail, including aircraft and road vehicles. Amid these various factors, during 2003, it was announced that Royal Mail had decided to suspend all transportation of mail by rail. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw many changes to
10080-486: The second half of the 19th century. With the coming of the railway in 1848, came industry and money. By 1881 David Colville had opened both an iron and steel works; Motherwell had a new piped water supply; had been granted burgh status and had its population swelled to 13,800 people. By the end of the 19th century Motherwell Town Hall and Dalziel High School had been built, the local football club had been founded, and its stadium, Fir Park , had been constructed. At
10192-529: The south. In 1988, the line to Aberdare was reopened. A British Rail advertisement ("Britain's Railway", directed by Hugh Hudson ) featured some of the best-known railway structures in Britain, including the Forth Rail Bridge , Royal Albert Bridge , Glenfinnan Viaduct and London Paddington station . London Liverpool Street station was rebuilt, opened by Queen Elizabeth II , and a new station
10304-480: The start of the 19th century Motherwell was a small hamlet, a farming community of some 600 people living adjacently to the 16th century laird's manor, Jerviston house. The hamlet remained reasonably small, reaching 1,700 people by 1841, and centred on the crossroads between the main road following the Clyde, and the road connecting Edinburgh with Hamilton and the west. Motherwell's fortunes changed dramatically in
10416-497: The start of the 20th century Motherwell stood a large and growing industrial centre, a town of 37,000 people and a wide variety of heavy industries such as munitions, trams and bridge components. By the 1930s most of Scotland's steel production was in Motherwell, and owned by the Colville family. In 1959 the Colville family were persuaded by the government to begin work of a vast new steel works, which would become Ravenscraig . Within
10528-560: The town in 1950 at the then newly constructed Parkneuk Sports Stadium in Milton Street. The Lanarkshire Eagles staged open meetings from July to September 1950. In 1951 the Eagles started out in the National League Second Division with veteran ex- Glasgow Tigers Will Lowther and Joe Crowther in the line up. They operated until the end of the 1954 season. The top man was Derrick Close, signed from
10640-662: The trunk routes of the West Coast Main Line , East Coast Main Line , Great Western Main Line , Great Eastern Main Line and Midland Main Line , and other lines. Policing on (and within) the network was carried out British Transport Police (BTP). In 1947 the Transport Act created the British Transport Commission (BTC), which unified the railway system. On 1 January 1949, the British Transport Commission Police (BTCP) were created, formed from
10752-423: The unsuccessful Advanced Passenger Train (APT). Gradually, passengers replaced freight as the main source of business. From 1982, under sectorisation , the regions were gradually replaced by "business sectors", which were originally responsible for marketing and other commercial matters when they were first created but had taken over entirely by 1990. During the 1980s and 1990s, the British Government directed
10864-509: The use of Britain's railways in regards to the delivery of both mail and parcels. Throughout the 1990s, many smaller services were cut back, and mail services were removed from most passenger stations. Following the opening of the new London hub on 30 September 1996, British rail mail operations were drastically restructured, only dedicated mail trains were operated after this date and thus were no longer based at any main line stations, as it had been decided to centrally base all London mail trains at
10976-485: The world before it was decommissioned. The closure of Ravenscraig signalled the end of large scale steel making in Scotland, although the town's Dalzell steel plate works continues to be operated by Tata Steel Europe . In the past decade, Motherwell has to an extent recovered from the high unemployment and economic decline brought about by this collapse of heavy industry . A number of call centres and business parks such as Strathclyde Business Park have since set up in
11088-493: Was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission , it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board . British Railways was formed on 1 January 1948 as a result of the Transport Act 1947 , which nationalised
11200-641: Was a major railway rolling stock manufacturer based in the town. The company built trains for the London Underground , and tramcars, as well as vehicles for main line railways. Motherwell is very accessible, as it is right next to the M74 motorway beside the River Clyde . This road leads to Cumbria on the Anglo-Scottish border , where it becomes the M6 . It is also about 3 miles (5 km) drive from
11312-463: Was also maintained by other sectors at Heaton and Liverpool Edge Hill . Amongst the more unusual duties that fell under RES' umbrella, was its responsibility for the haulage of the Royal Train whenever required. Seeking to rejuvenate rail mail, RES devised a £150 million strategy that focused on long-distance services that worked in conjunction with a central hub based in London at its heart, known as Railnet . During late 1993, RES and RM had signed
11424-539: Was called the Clyde Valley Greyhound Track , it was located on Airbles Road and closed in 1959. The second was the Parkneuk Sports Stadium near Milton Street and was opened in 1949 but closed in 1972. Dalziel Rugby Club play at Dalziel Park (formerly Cleland Estate) between the villages of Carfin and Cleland (both near Motherwell). There are cycle routes based in Motherwell and in neighboring Strathclyde Country Park. The Greenlink Cycle Path
11536-583: Was constructed at Stansted Airport in 1991. The following year, the Maesteg line was reopened. In 1988, the Windsor Link Line, Manchester was constructed and has proven to be an important piece of infrastructure. Before the introduction of APTIS (Accountancy and Passenger Ticket Issuing System), British Rail used the Edmondson railway ticket , first introduced in the 1840s and phased out in
11648-565: Was integrated into the firm and ceased to exist as an independent operation. A few years later, railway-based mail operations ended entirely in Britain due to the increasingly poor economics involved. During the 1980s, British Rail 's senior management endeavoured to rejuvenate numerous aspects of its operations and to better fulfil customer demands. Under the policy of Sectorisation , BR's entire rail-based mail operations were consolidated into their own business unit, Rail Express Systems (RES). This reorganisation under its own management team led to
11760-527: Was introduced in the 1980s. Certain BR operations such as Inter-City , Network SouthEast , Regional Railways or Rail Express Systems began to adopt their own identities, introducing logos and colour schemes which were essentially variants of the British Rail brand. Eventually, as sectorisation developed into a prelude to privatisation, the unified British Rail brand disappeared, with the notable exception of
11872-547: Was married for a time to Will Self. Her personal memoir "Motherwell" 2020 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson ISBN 978 1 4746 1146 6, gives a clear eyed description of the town as she knew it from the 1960s onwards. There is a Further Education college in Motherwell, known as New College Lanarkshire . This was located next to Our Lady's High School in Dalzell Drive, though in 2009 relocated to Ravenscraig , about 1 km away from its former site. The current roll of students at
11984-623: Was recently modernised, with the outdated pink and yellow panels replaced by a modern-looking glass exterior. Notable alumni of Braidhurst include Elaine C Smith (actress), former Scotland national football captain Gary McAllister and Tam Cowan (comedian and writer). Our Lady's High School is a Roman Catholic secondary located in Dalzell Drive, near Fir Park Stadium in Knowetop, the school serves areas including Knowetop, North Lodge, Airbles, Glencairn and Muirhouse. At one point it
12096-636: Was successful, the sale taking effect on 9 December 1995 with 164 locomotives and 677 wagons included. In 1996, the business was integrated into English Welsh & Scottish (EWS), ceasing to exist as a separate entity. Rail-based mail traffic continued to decline following the integration. A further factor that negatively impacted such operations was the Hatfield rail crash during October 2000, which led to numerous restrictions being imposed upon TPOs, including new speed limitations and numerous cancellations across many routes. There were also rising concerns over
12208-422: Was such a large operation, running not just railways but also ferries, steamships and hotels, it has been considered difficult to analyse the effects of nationalisation. Prices rose quickly in this period, rising 108% in real terms from 1979 to 1994, as prices rose by 262% but RPI only increased by 154% in the same time. Following nationalisation in 1948, British Railways began to adapt the corporate liveries on
12320-550: Was the first real subdivision of BR since its inception in 1949, and likely saved many lines earmarked for closure, notably the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway , which now forms part of the Merseyrail network. Upon sectorisation in 1982, three passenger sectors were created: InterCity , operating principal express services; London & South East (renamed Network SouthEast in 1986) operating commuter services in
12432-467: Was the largest school in Western Europe, but the current school roll is around 700. Notable alumni of Our Lady's include Manchester City footballer and Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby , Celtic F.C. footballer Billy McNeill, Derby County footballer Stephen Pearson , Celtic F.C. footballer Kieran Tierney and Motherwell F.C. footballer Chris Cadden . Other secondary schools in
12544-515: Was transferred to the sectors. The Anglia Region was created in late 1987, its first General Manager being John Edmonds, who began his appointment on 19 October 1987. Full separation from the Eastern Region – apart from engineering design needs – occurred on 29 April 1988. It handled the services from Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street , its western boundary being Hertford East , Meldreth and Whittlesea . The former BR network, with
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