At its peak, the British railway network consisted of a massive 20,000 miles of track on which ran 23,000 locomotives pulling a total of 73,000 carriages and 1.4 million goods wagons. This huge transport network was managed and operated by 130 individual companies. Like the small capillaries at the end of the main arteries, 'Britain's Branch Lines' were essential links to villages, small towns and many industrial sites such as collieries, factories and power stations. With the demise of heavy industry and development of cheap motor cars, many Branch Lines have closed. This set is part of a nationwide tour of many of these lines, some long since closed, some still in limited operation.
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