ABSTRACT
This chapter describes and interprets the history of transport in general and freight transport particular in Great Britain. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway is the first to use locomotives throughout its length and to develop passenger transport. The efficiency of freight transport also is improved by eliminating the light loading of wagons and unnecessary haulage, pooling the wagon stock and regulating the flow of goods at terminals. In the face of impending war, the Ministry of Transport tries to prepare the transport services for a national emergency better than it did in 1914. 'The Labour party's victory in the general election of July 1945 is of decisive importance for the future of British transport'. Compensation is paid to their former owners in the form of British Transport 3 percent bonds redeemable by 1988, on the basis of the Stock Exchange valuation of their shares in 1945 or 1946.
