BRITISH RAILWAYS
SIR,—The article by Canon Roger Lloyd on the railway ten years hence in your- issue of December 12th calls for some comment, which, in the absence- of observations from more authoritative quarters, I may be permitted to make. Not only the " outward shape of things to come," but also the shapes of the many internal fittings and furnishing items which spell passenger comfort, are of great interest to the travelling public. Now that the competitive element between the Big Four has . been removed—if, in fact, it has been alive at all during the past ten years—it is to be hoped that the -pooled resources will, under able and enthusiastic guidance, ensure that British railways will reach a /level in both technical and aesthetic excellence such. as could not be achieved by any of the independent lines. Let those who have their doubts consider the transformation of the London Underground, effected by the wise guidance of the late Frank Pick. May the prayers be answered of all those who " like playing about with trains "—tliat another such benevolent despot will control the shapes, internal and external, the colours,and the trimmings,, not forgetting station and hotel architecture and furnishings, of British railways.
On questions of detail, Canon Lloyd appears to have overlooked .the coming or the diesel electric locomotive and its influence on the ultimate fate of the steam locomotive. While appreciating the reasons for his selection of the named examples worthy of retention in the national service, one should remember that, although outstanding in their day, they are all essentially Stephensonian in design and function. With the increasing conversion to oil-burning and the opportunities for change in lay-out afforded by the remote control which this conversion offers, it seems probable that within the next few years an entirely different form of steam locomotive will emerge, particularly if intensive research is carried out on a national scale. Incidentally, I do not think the Southern Railway, particularly its chief mechanical engineer, would approve of the description of the Merchant Navy type as " streamlined." The present shape of that class results, I believe, from the severely practical develop- ment of improved boiler insulation, and should not be confused with earlier attempts to disguise " ordinary honest engines " or to glamorise them, in a way they have in the United States, by the use of pseudo- streamlined casings, which have since been removed by those British lines which experimented with them. Finally, a word to our future designers. The crew are the most important people on the train. Why should they be expected to travel under conditions little removed from those obtaining in Stephenson's day? When the cabs of the new loco- motives are designed, could not the experience of designers in other fields of transport be drawn upon, so that the comfort and convenience of the driver and fireman are given the consideration which is their due, and that good visibility under all conditions and the most satisfactory arrangement of. instruments and controls are ensured?—Yours faithfully,
N. E. KEARLEY (Deputy Director).
The Council of Industrial Design, Tilbury House, Petty France, S.W. I.
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