Catalogue description Records inherited and created by British Railways, Research Department
Reference: | Division within AN |
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Title: | Records inherited and created by British Railways, Research Department |
Description: |
Records of the British Railways Research Department, established in 1951 to develop and initiate scientific research into the railways, document aspects of research primarily concerned with the operation of rolling stock, and include reports of the following divisions of the Research Department:
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Date: | 1951-1973 |
Legal status: | Public Record(s) |
Language: | English |
Creator: |
British Railways, Research and Development Division, 1972-1989 British Railways, Research Department, 1951-1972 |
Physical description: | 11 series |
Administrative / biographical background: |
The Research Department of British Railways was established in 1951, following a review of current and previous research into the railways carried out in 1948 by a committee headed by Sir William Stanier. Scientific research on the railways had developed from the 1840s, as part of the efforts then being made to improve the performance and reliability of the early steam locomotives. For many years research continued to focus on locomotives and rolling stock, and this developed in the twentieth century through and beyond the grouping of the railway companies and the emergrence of the big four in 1924. The Research Department established in 1951 was divided into six dixisions: Engineering, Metallurgy, Chemistry, Physics, Textiles and Operational Research. The Chemistry Division was renamed the Chemical Services Division in 1954. In 1963, it was divided into the Chemical Research Division and the Regional Scientific Services Division. In the same year, the Electrical Research Division was formed. In 1972, a major re-organisation renamed the department the Research and Development Division, and placed the various functions of the organisation under the control of project managers. Further reorgainsations took place in 1978 and 1980, and in 1989, following a change in policy which allowed the department only to undertake work for other departments or outside bodies when requested, and the implementation of a policy of self-accounting, the name was changed to Research Division. |
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