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Clement Atlee's government loved to nationalise everything in the aftermath of WW2 in order to build a "brave, new society" (where have I heard that one before. The transport industry was no exception and the railways, the canals, road haulage and ports all were nationalised after the Transport Act 1947 under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport.

But let's scupper the nationalisation of the Railways - before 1948, the Big Four railway companies were very powerful entities with a lot of influence in Parliament and could potentially sink the Transport Act or at least get it revised so for the purposes of this exercise, Railways remain privatised but Road Haulage isn't.

Now because of the war, a backlog of maintenance has to be sorted out and modernisation has to take place. BR's profits fell and fell until the mid 1950s where they began recording losses. Can a privatised industry, especially with weaker opposition from road transport, fend off the challenge and remain the number one mode of transport in the UK?

If the railway industry remains out of government hands, there is no need for one Doctor Beeching to be called in to report on the railways.

If the Road Haulage industry remains in the hands of the government, will there be all that money spent on motorways?

I can see two outcomes:

One is a new railway golden age where it makes little financial sense for people to own their own motorcars, especially in cities where trams continue to dominate the local routes as they're not going to be closed. The "big four" remain huge players in the FTSE 100 Index and have extensive conglomorates in property, resorts and ports. The UK car industry sunk in the 1960s when there was just not enough of a domestic market to continue to support manufacture and French companies Peugeot and Renault gobbled up Rover, Jaguar et al.

The other is that the railways continue on developing until North Sea oil is discovered in the 1960s and lobbying efforts from the automobile industry persuading greedy politicians with the lure of cheap petrol and massive kickbacks begin the massive UK roadbuilding programme 20 years later - railways face increasing competition from roads leading to many unprofitable lines running Parliamentary Trains and Ghost Trains.

Ideas?
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