Great Northern Suburban Electrification Records

22 boxes of records relating to permanent way and signalling works in the British Rail Eastern Region during the 1960s and 1970s. A significant proportion of the collection relates to the electrification of suburban lines from Kings Cross station as well as the closure of the line to Farringdon and Moorgate in 1976. There is also some material concerning replacement of level crossings and junction remodelling across the broader Eastern Region. The collection includes signalling drawings, civil engineering drawings, telecommunications plans, reports, minutes, ephemera, publicity literature etc.

This collection documents an interesting era in the development of signalling and permanent way on Britain's railways. There was significant modernisation taking place on the routes out of London Kings Cross station such as electrification, crossing replacements and re-signalling aimed at producing a faster and more efficient railway. However, this was accompanied by rationalisation - removing surplus capacity and closing railway lines.

The drawings in this collection document these changes taking place but they are also placed in context through the accompanying reports and minutes, illustrating the rationale behind the decisions taken by engineers. It also documents how engineers planned into the future, for example in proposals to include provision for a new railway to be built to link with the subsequently aborted Third London Airport project. The collection also documents the management of these projects with documents detailing how the work was staged and costed. There are also examples of publicity literature such as press releases and leaflets illustrating how the railway communicated with the public about the project and disruption. There are also insights into the personal lives of some of the staff that worked on the project, including a set of passport style photographs of staff pulling silly faces.