The Rail Chronology website

Page last updated: 28 December 2008.


The date of the most recent up-date of each item is shown in parentheses.

Great Britain (including international services):

A Bibliography: a list of publications (not periodicals) which have been principally (or exclusively) chronologies of some aspect of railways (26 February 2008)

Train Operating Company (TOC) codes: a de-coder for the two-character codes used in Great Britain Passenger Railway / National Rail Timetables and chronology of privatisation and transfer/re-branding of Great Britain's passenger railway franchises ("to 2007" page: 11 August 2008; "from 2008" page: 28 December 2008)

Channel Tunnel Train Services: a chronology of the introduction of the various services through the Channel Tunnel (25 November 2004)

Eurostar services: a chronology of the introduction of Eurostar's passenger services (24 October 2007)

Sheepcote Lane curve, London: a chronology of the introduction and withdrawal of passenger services over this reopened curve (19 February 2005)

Croxley Green L.N.W.R. branch: a chronology of its passenger closure (11 April 2006)

Allington - Barkston: a record of the changes effected from 3 October 2005 between Allington Jn, Barkston South Jn and Barkston East Jn and of its abortive 1958 precursor (5 April 2006)

Maindee curve: a chronology of its passenger closure (20 January 2006)

Timetable start dates: a list of the start dates of British Railways (and successor) timetables since 1948 (29 November 2007)

A brief history of the National Rail timetable and its predecessors (11 June 2007)

Ecclesbourne Valley Railway opening: a record of the reopening of passenger services at Wirksworth (21 January 2006)

Sinfin branch passenger service: a chronology of its passenger service (21 January 2006)

Wimborne - Bailey Gate (Corfe Mullen Junction): withdrawal date of its passenger service (16 July 2007)

The demise of "Halts" and "Platforms" on British Rail: a note of the withdrawal and reappearance of these suffixes (17 March 2008)

Definition of "Railway Passenger Station": a proposed definition (15 July 2006)

Eardington station (Severn Valley Railway) : a chronology of its career in the preservation era (23 December 2006)

Obligatory station stops: the abolition in 1963 of the British Railways Board's obligations to stop trains at specified stations (24 December 2006)

Beckenham Junction - New Beckenham: a chronology of it passenger closures (5 January 2007)

East of Mansfield: a study of the Nottinghamshire colliery branches immediately to the east of Mansfield - serving Rufford, Clipstone, Blidworth, Bilsthorpe and Mansfield collieries (25 November 2008)

GNR & LNWR joint lines: a chronology of the closure of the joint lines (and associated GNR branches) in Leicestershire and south Nottinghamshire (17 March 2008)

Nottingham - Worksop: a chronology of the restoration of passenger services (30 November 2007)

Llanberis branch passenger services from 1930 to 1962: a chronology of the regular excursion services which ran on this "closed" line (4 February 2008)

Ireland:

Ennis - Limerick: a chronology of the resumption of passenger services (10 December 2004)

France:

Closure of Lines - France: a translation of an explanation of the stages leading to abandonment of any French railway line (currently under revision)


Some internal links are to Adobe Acrobat pdf files: you can download Get Adobe Reader here if you do not have it already.


Links to other sites with chronological content

Closed railway lines in Britain and Ireland: A record of the dates of cessation of revenue traffic on railway lines in Britain and Ireland

Time line for railway developments: A chronology of "pre-railway" developments leading to the birth of the modern railway in 1825 (Stockton & Darlington) and 1830 (Liverpool & Manchester)

The RailScot site includes a chronology of Scotland's railways (go to A to Z)

Colin Churcher's site includes Canadian and, particularly, Ottawa railway history


Two societies in particular promote interest in the study of railway history in the British Isles

The Railway & Canal Historical Society

The Irish Railway Record Society


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