JUNCTION 'X'
BY
CECIL McGIVERN

THE SCRIPT OF AN OUTSTANDING
B.B.C. FEATURE BROADCAST

Foreword by

The Right Hon. LORD LEATHERS, P.C., C.H.

Minister of War Transport

 

IT is a tradition of the British Railways that at all times and in almost all conditions essential traffic must go through; and never have they lived up to that tradition more faithfully than to-day.

  Their problems in wartime naturally differ greatly from those in peace. They have to contend not only with the weather but also with the blackout, the enemy bomber and, above all, with a vastly increased volume of traffic. They have to carry on, moreover, with staffs sadly depleted of trained men. But the spirit of the service remains the same.

  The absence of apparent effort, with which railway staffs have overcome almost insuperable obstacles, ofen conceals a tremendous amount of planning, ingenuity and improvisation on the part both of management and men. This side of their work, not always obvious to the passenger, is brought out in the story of "Junction X" - a story which might have been written not of one but of a great many junctions throughout the country.

  I hope the publication of the broadcast story, in book form, will lead to a fuller understanding of how much the rest of us owe to this staff of 600,000 railway workers, who for nearly five years have dealt with difficulties, disappointments and dangers which few of us fully realise. They are bearing a great load of responsibility and, in helping them during these critical days, we are indirectly helping the men of the Fighting Services.

2nd June, 1944.

Lord Leathers in a London Signal Box - 7KB
"Lord Leathers in a London Signal Box"