Delivering Coal by Road and Rail in Britain: The Efficiency of the “Silly Little Bobtailed” Coal Wagons

Va Nee L. Van Vleck

The Journal of Economic History, 1997, vol. 57, issue 1, 139-160

Abstract: The small railway coal wagon was an early example held up to demonstrate Edwardian Britain’s technological stagnation. The small wagons have been blamed for inflated rail freight rates and depressed railway profits. What has been overlooked is that the small wagon was integral to the local coal market. The coal wagon was a substitute for costly distribution and delivery by road transport; although some railway specific costs may have been inflated, beyond the railhead other costs were economized. Seen in the appropriate context the small coal wagon was neither a bad choice nor an oddity.

Date: 1997
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