Nelson

It was not Whitby but Plymouth from which Captain James Cook set sail on his first voyage of discovery almost exactly 250 years ago. But it was the Yorkshire port in which he had gained his sea legs that was throwing him a party.

The British Transport Commission's document, Modernisation and Re-equipment of British Railways, published in December 1954 brought many far- reaching changes, not least the switch from steam to diesel electric traction. This was to be completed by 1970 with an initial £125m earmarked.