This is the Metadyne Website
Research Papers of Mike Horne, writer and researcher
Research
This page is the index to various pieces of research work. Some of the work is virtually complete, or as complete as it can be, whilst other pieces are in a much earlier state. In any event, all of it should be regarded as 'Work in Progress' and the author can do no more than say that you are very welcome to use the information on an 'as is' basis but if you are relying on it you may care to check with me first. In due course I will mark up pieces that are 'complete', they might even get published in print, one day.
I recognize that publishing incomplete work has its dangers, but ultimately I felt it better to make it available in some form as early as I could rather than just sitting on a hard drive where, life being what it is, it may never be of any use at all.
Want to use the information?
For access to the information, just click on the links adjacent. If you use the information, an acknowledgement with reference to the website would be appreciated.
The Photo
A view no longer possible-St Pancras station in June 2003, This location is now covered by the new domestic (East Midlands) station, upon which construction had just started.
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Quick Links: London Research Transport Research Technical Research Short Research Articles Research Support Wider Research
London Research
A brief history of
London's airports with particular reference to their means of access by
rail and other surface transport
London's Airports and public transport access
This
research relates to the work undertaken to identify, visit and record every
surviving parish boundary marker in Greater London
(excluding the square mile of the
City)
London's Parish Boundary Markers - A
Survey
Much
London property is owned by ancient institurions that sometimes identify
their estate by discrete marks. This research presents some illustrative
examples.
Examples illustrative of London property
ownership marks
Mile
markers (milepostes and milestones) have been a feature on many main roads in
London, but many have disappeared over the years. This is a small project to
identify and make better known the survivors
London's Milestones and Mileposts - A
Survey
At one time there were
over 100 electricity power stations in London, most very small. There are now
almost none. This research seeks to identify where they were and how they
were equipped.
London power station history
Technical Research
For some years
London Transport had one of the largest private telephone systems in the
world and one that for a while served all modes of transport. This research
seeks document its rise and fall, together with its other communications
systems.
London Transport's Telephone System
In the 1960s ticket
issuing on the Underground was very people-intensive and ticket examination
very difficult to enforce. The Underground then embarked on developing an
automated system which was perhaps over-ambitious at the time though
today's technology now works well. This research provides a record of how
all this developed.
The Story of the Underground's LT
Automatic Fare Collection
In an effort to reduce staff
numbers and improve service performance the Underground was from the 1950s
foremost in developing automatic means of route setting followed bt the
development of programme machines, used to set the routes for the trains and
heavily used until recently. This was a complex story and the results of this
research are given here.
The Development the Automatic Route Setting on LT
Railways
Research Support
The late Peter Bancroft spent many years at the Public Record Office (now the
National Archives) studying London Transport's records and summarizing the
indexes in order to make LT records easier to find and more accessible. He
produced Part 1 of this useful work just before his death but left most of the
material for part 2 available. After editing and re-organizing, Part 2 has been
made available on this website. Part 1 is available from me as a book.
London Transport Records at the Public Record Office
London Transport for many years issued detailed information about signalling
and track changes in the form of supplements to its weekly traffic notices and
circulars. The late Peter Bancroft listed these as a convenience for researchers
and made it available in a slim booklet. This section of this website has sought
to keep the information up to date.
London Underground, Railway Supplements to
Traffic Circular, 1917-1933 and 1992-2000
Wider Research
The Parish and associated
local government units. With
an interest in boundaries and the
constant discovery of 'strange'
initials on street furniture, I was
moved many years ago to write down
something of the origin of these
units. It needs updating and
refreshing, but I have made it
available here in case it is useful to
anyone.
The English Civil and Ecclesiastical Parish
Books you can read online
The Evolution of British Railways 1909-2009
The railways in Britain have changed profoundly over the last hundred years but little has been said about how this gradual evolution in operating and management methods changed in parallel with technical development and the changing circumstances of the country as a whole. This book attempts to fill that gap.
Originally written to celebrate the
centenary of the Railway Study Association,
it draws on the rich proceedings of
the organization including many papers
written by contemporary (and in many
cases quite famous) railway managers
giving their views and opinions about
what worked well and what didn't, and
what they were doing about it. I am
not aware this resource has been
tapped before. This appeared in 2009
as 'A Century of Change — A Hundred Years of the
Railway Study Association.
The Railway Study Association emerged
from the special railway courses run
by the London School of economics and
became a body joined by many aspiring
railway managers. With informative
study tours and lectures by famous
railway engineers and managers, the
association's repository of lectures
over half a century provide a
fascinating record of development
explained (often candidly) by those
who were there at the time. It is hoped the
result provides a slightly different
narrative to many of the general
railway histories that abound.
The Evolution of British Railways 1909 to 2009
Transport Research
Railways involve the
potentially dangerous combination of people, heavy equipment and speed and
from the first they needed a safe system of work. Crude at first, this soon
developed into an organized rule book, but this was not without complication,
the story being told here.
Railway Rulebooks - British Railways
The story behind the London Underground Railway Rule Book has
parallels with that of the main line railways, whose rule book was shared for
over a century. The belief that 'Metros' were somehow different has
in recent years created its own constantly changing rule presentation, and
the issues are examined here.
Railway Rulebooks - London Underground
The humble signal box was
once a feature of every Underground station but from early Edwardian days
power-operated systems became available covering ever larger areas of
control. Today, only a handful of traditional signal boxes remain. This
research is in form of a register recording each one, including operational
dates and location.
Signal Boxes and other Interlockings on the London Underground
- A Detailed Register and Chronology
Every Underground station has
its story to tell, perhaps some being more interesting than others. Oxford
Circus has had a particularly interesting history, its facilities always
lagging behind that demanded by its heavy traffic and its early designs (part
built) so bad they were abandoned. This research sets out that story.
Oxford Circus - The Story of an Underground Station
Railways have usually
operated with tight financial margins and extra income from station trading
and adverting has been useful and sometimes vital. Londons trains, buses and
stations have always been excellent places to advertise and generated much
innovation. This research records the story of the advertising business of
London's transport.
London Transport Advertising
The
District Railway had been little
written about until my book appeared
and it seemed a good idea to set aside
part of my web site to add additional
information that could not be included
in the book or which has come to light
since publication. This link takes to
you the separate index for those
pages.
District Railway additional historical material
In steam days the District
Railway was prodigious in its promotional efforts and as part of this it
produced large numbers of maps over a period of about thirty years. Several
efforts have been made to record all these and this research attempts to
bring all this together, with additional data from author's own
collection.
District Railway Large Format Maps - A
Cartobibliography
Since 1903 it is been
necessary for all vehicles used on UK roads to carry a prominent registration
number and the original system, involving letters and numbers remained in use
with only minor modification until 2001. The letters represented the original
counties and towns that maintained registers. This research follows the
history and development of this system.
UK Vehicle Registration Numbers - A Brief History
Shorts
A brief essay setting out some views about Dr Richard Beeching and his
contribution to the closure of many railway lines. It is suggested he was a
convenient conduit for the widespread disapproval of a process which was actually
driven by a combination of practicality (started long before Beeching and carried
on manly after he had gone) and inept government policy. Beeching's desire to
improve the core system rarely gets a mention.
Beeching 50 years on
The electro-mechanical train destination signs that were such a characteristic
of District Railway and District Line platforms for eighty years are interesting
in the variety of the destinations displayed and the technical system that
constrained how they worked. It seemed worthwhile to try and record this whilst
evidence was just about still available.
District Railway Platform (Train Description) Indicators
- A Preliminary Study
Over the last couple of decades or so the
London Underground diagram has been
increasingly lauded as a
masterpiece of graphic design which almost
defines London. The credit for this is
heaped upon Henry C Beck, who
designed the original diagram in 1932.
However, amidst this frenzied euphoria,
we find Beck being credited with all
kinds of features he did not actually
introduce himself. This article discusses the
origin of the various design features
of the diagram, with some wider
observations.
Design Aspects of London Underground Diagram
Corporate knowledge within large organizations seems harder than ever to retain
in this electronic age where personal experience is almost considered a fault. A
simple and consistent system for how to number railway platforms, thoroughly
understood for decades, is forgotten, so the evidence suggests. I thought I would
write it down.
London Underground Platform Numbering
The expression 'Mind the Gap' has
caught the public imagination in
London, and populist writers treat it
as a modern 'fun' expression. In fact
the term has been around for many
decades. This little bit of research
indicates how it came into use, and
why there are gaps in the first place.
London Underground Platform-train gaps and
Mind the Gap
Once geographical errors are made they gain currency and credibility very quickly
and are then the devil's own job to
correct. The Mantles Wood error has
irked me for years and I offer it as
one example (of several) of terms that
are just not right. Ignorance or acceptance
of errors suggest they might
equally be tolerated in safety critical
areas!
Mantles Wood Property Boundary - the Myth
Until the 1970s the destination of many
Underground trains was made via
enamelled iron plates displayed on the
front of trains, each train carrying
sets of these and each plate
displaying one of two destinations.
The way destinations were paired up,
and the way they were set out, tells
us just a little bit more about the
history of the system. This research
is no more than setting down what is
known about them.
Rolling Stock Destination Signs on the London
Underground until the Second World War
Today's uninteresting 'Euro-style' driving licences are the latest product of the
Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency,
but before control of these licences
were centralized in the 1970's driving
licences were issued by County (and
County Borough) councils. Although
from 1933 licences were based on a
fairly standard design, prior to that,
and from 1903 when licences were first
issued), each authority issued its own
pattern of widely varying design. This
brief article sets out the brief
history of licences, with examples.
British Driving Licences