Business is now on the up grade throughout the Home railway industry, and ambitious renewal and improvement plans are in progress on all the group systems. To illustrate the optimism of the Home railway leaders, let us take two typical railways—the Great Western and the London and North Eastern—and consider what is being done to perfect their transportation machines.

On the Great Western, there is great activity in the locomotive and carriage and wagon departments. During the present year, the Company are constructing in their Swindon shops ten new “Castle” class locomotives, fifteen new “Hall” class, ten standard goods locomotives, and sixty tank locomotives.

Some 211 new passenger vehicles are being built, these including four twin dining-car units and two kitchen-cars. On the freight side, 2,486 new goods wagons are being turned out this year, more than half of these being open 12-ton trucks for general merchandise. Track renewals covering 390 miles of line are being undertaken; some 130 bridges of various sizes and dimensions are being rebuilt; and the reconstruction is to be completed of two huge modern passenger stations—Bristol (Temple Meads) and Swansea (High Street).

Now for the London and North Eastern story. During the present year, about 5,000 new goods wagons are to be built, 50 per cent. being box wagons. Three hundred new containers are being constructed—a tribute to the proved utility of this convenient method of movement—while the programme also includes the acquisition of 100 new all-steel wagons for the handling of locomotive coal. Eighty-eight new steam locomotives are being turned out this year in London and North Eastern shops. Passenger vehicle construction includes the building of about three hundred new carriages, including ten restaurant cars, four sleepers, and two complete “tourist train” sets for holiday traffic. Track works include the renewal of nearly 500 miles of track, the rebuilding of 37 bridges, and the cleaning and painting of innumerable stations. In connection with this latter work, special colour schemes are to take the place of the usual standard method of treatment, attractive stations now being regarded as a vital selling point for rail travel.