Railways.

Sorry for assuming you didn't use something you obviously detest. For whatever reason. Did you fail the interview to become an engine driver?

Go on then. The railways replaced the canals. So what is to replace the railways other than road transport? On your planet it would be drones?

The one thing you're very good at is never providing a solution. Typical Brexiteer. Leave it all to others to work out.

but, they carried on for freight until the big freeze of 1947.

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

Whoops! Crossed wires :-)

I didn't get free travel, but did commute into town for more years than I care to remember. Yes, there was days that were a complete disaster, but bearing in mind the number of people moved by trains every day, I always found the service to be pretty good, and a far better option than driving in.

One of life's pleasures, since moving north, has been using the train to visit family down south. A civilised way to travel.

In message , Graeme writes

was???? Were!

If it is listed on a stock exchange, then anyone can buy shares.

There are some large businesses which are privately owned, but all of the companies that are currently viewed in some quarters as villains (Apple, Google, Amazon, BP) are publically listed.

I'm a labour voter. With a number of pensions.

wolf!

What makes you think I detest them? There you go again inventing stuff to suit your narrative.

Those who go on and on about a disrupted train service (for whatever reason) must never have had to queue for hours on a motorway because of an accident, etc.

It is.

Yes. But try getting your vote heard at an general meeting.

Not so worried about them, as they don't provide an essential service to the UK. I'm very much in favour of genuine competition providing a better value service - but this simply isn't possible with trains.

There, wolf!

yes and no. They ceased to be a significant carrier as soon as railways existed with equivalent destinations.

Bloody good camouflage - where?

The nationalised industries also trained up thousands of tradesmen. Most have now retired which is why we are in the s*it. I was on e of them. As long as you kept passing, they's continue to let you get advanced qualifications. I know someone who got up to MSc.

Private industry just wants to try to import tradesmen.

Don't think Tim is interested in history. Except to imply railways are as obsolete as canals.

The problem with railways and goods is all the double handling involved.

Then please explain what you meant by:-

From: Tim Streater Subject: Re: Railways. Date: Sat, 13 May 2017 08:55 Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y

When the canals were built, they were the bees knees. Until trains came along.

That surely suggests trains are also obsolete. Or was it just one of your irrelevant 'points'?

Neither the railways nor canals are obsolete. Nor are roads or planes. They are all there as available modes of transport for people to pick and businesses to use for their various purposes.

As a user, what you have to decide is what suits your purpose. You also have to be concerned about whether the government is subsidising one more or another, and whether that is a good thing or not, since if they are, it's your taxes being used for the purpose.

You appear to have decided that the railway system was at its best under BR and that we should go back to that.

In the eyes of people at the time.

It was later than that , the British Transport commission wasn't formed till 1948 which took over the canals from various owners like the Railways and like them put them in state ownership, they continued to carry freight probably at a loss till the next big freeze in 1962 finally dealt a death blow though odd operations by others continued into the 1970's.

Some Railways were, Beeching amongst others dealt with a lot of them

Canals have changed use with odd exception like the privately owned Manchester Ship canal from being a means of freight transport to a facility for leisure of various kinds, a master stroke of the Canal preservation movement in the 1960's was persuading the Government to keep a good part of the network usable subsidised by tax payers for people to sail their expensive narrow boats on , the railway equivalent would have been all those lines like the Bluebell and other tourist lines being run by a government department as a leisure facility for Steam train Buffs to gawp at supported by the taxpayer.

G.Harman