Adlib Internet Server 5

Title
Campaign for Better Transport Archive
Reference
CFBT
Production date
1972 - 2018

Creator

Campaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust Biography Biography
The Campaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust (formerly Transport 2000) is a transport policy and environmental pressure group. Founded on 6 February 1973 by Sidney Weighell, deputy general secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen, in collaboration with the Civic Trust, the Conservation Society, and the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, the group is responsible for addressing transport issues in the UK and abroad. In 1980 their business location was 40 James Street, then Walkden House at 10 Melton Street in London until c. 1997, when their business domicile moved to The Impact Centre in London. The organisation is still active as a charity (1101929) and company limited by guarantee (49 43428), and currently based in The Print Rooms, London. In its early years, Transport 2000 Limited was governed by a Board of Directors, who consisted of elected representatives from partner environmental organisations and two representatives from each local group of Transport 2000, guided by a Chairman. Local groups were governed independently and required a license to use the branding of Transport 2000. The first chair was Eric Robinson and the first secretary Michael Harris, the latter being the director of the Railway Industry Association. The organisation received funding from British Rail from 1978, which was used to employ its first staff members: Mick Hamer, a transport campaigner from Friends of the Earth, who was director from 1978, and Nick Lester, co-creator of the London Cycling Campaign. Directorship changed many times throughout the campaign’s history; the role was held by Harley Sherlock, Michael Palin, Stephen Joseph, Susan Hoyle, and Keith Buchan, among others. From 1991 to 2006, strategy and the administration of strategic initiatives were divided between two organisations: Transport 2000 Limited and Transport 2000 Trust. According to Stephen Joseph’s presentation to the Limited Board of Directors in 1992, Transport 2000 Limited set the pace for strategic operations of the group, including ‘to promote a coherent and sustainably viable transport policy’, whereas the Trust was tasked with the development of alternatives and ‘spearheading’ proactive political and social initiatives, working to the strategy set by Limited. The Trust and Limited organisations each had their own chair, who reports to the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees. The Board and Trustees were tasked with approving measures, setting the Annual General Meeting agendas, moderating finances, approving and appointing staff changes, and fundraising. The Trust was registered 08 April 1992 and its operations lasted until 04 August 2005, when it was merged with Transport 2000 Limited following the amended stipulations of the Charities Act 2006. The Campaign took its current name in 2007. The Campaign for Better Transport aimed to address key issues of transport on both local and national levels. Activities centre around three main objectives: public transport, traffic reduction, and environmental sustainability., though focus has shifted over time to address timely aspects of transport in the United Kingdom. Tactics have included lobbying, drafting consultation responses to government green and white papers, stunts, funding research, publishing reports, newsletters, and briefings, and coordinating toolkits for local groups to administer campaigning strategies in their local communities. Notable actions include commenting on the Serpell report, main line electrification, and the Railways Bill, implementing communications infrastructure for building awareness of the effects of deregulation of buses and trains on local constituents, contributing to the Women’s Charter for transport safety and accessibility, funding research on door-to-door and integrated transport, supporting Local Transport Days, researching and lobbying privatised railways and drawing attention to rail line and station closures, as well as celebrating reopenings. Campaign for Better Transport have been especially instrumental in addressing issues such as rail privatisation, climate change, road safety, pedestrian safety, rail reform, transport taxation, bus line retention, fare caps, speed limits, and infrastructure planning, as well as implementing a Company Car Tax. Social inclusion and quality of life are key principles underpinning their work, evidenced in their campaigns to support women and mothers, wheelchair users, economically disadvantaged populations, and inhabitants of rural areas.

Scope and Content
The Campaign for Better Transport archive has been arranged into series of Business records (CFBT/1), Publications, press coverage, and promotional materials (CFBT/2), Records relating to public transport (CFBT/3), Records relating to roads and traffic reduction (CFBT/4), Records relating to climate change (CFBT/5), and Records relating to infrastructure and planning (CFBT/6), and one sub-fonds, Save Our Railways (CFBT/10). Records include manuscript and typed meeting notes, correspondence, strategy papers, research reports, demonstration pamphlets, documentation of demonstrations, digital and analogue photographs and negatives, and audiovisual material for the period 1972-2018.
Extent
122 boxes and 13 bundles
Physical description
Printer paper, photocopied paper, fax slips, newspaper cuttings all in good condition, preventive conservation has been applied to limit acidity and reduce deterioration, especially where cellotape and glue has been applied to the pages. 35mm photographic transparency slides and negative strips. Slides are acetate base, tested in July 2022 with an A-D strip as level 0 of deterioration (no deterioration). Generally in good condition. Print photographs both colour and BW, all in good condition. Colour and sound video in DV cassette in good condition. Magnetic tape in VHS cassette with audiovisual material in good condition. Original plastic packaging has been retained to enhance preventive conservation. Plastic CD-ROM discs with born-digital photographs and audiovisual material in good physical condition, preventive conservation has been applied to prevent mechanical damage. Original plastic packaging, when present, has been retained in lieu of unbuffered sleeves to enhance preventive conservation. Magnetic tape in plastic Betamax cassette in good condition, original plastic case has been retained to enhance preventive conservation and reduce environmental damage. CD and DVD materials may be accessed by writeblocking and viewing on a computer with a ROM reader. VHS and Betamax film may be viewed with a VHS and Betamax player connected to a television screen or monitor.
Language
English
Archival history
The archive was stored at Campaign for Better Transport offices from point of creation, though many items were transported to conferences, meetings and other special events then returned to office and primary storage location afterwards. Following creation, items were stored in filing cabinets arranged in reverse chronological order, with newer items accruing at the front of the cabinet drawers. Later moves of the organisation offices resulted in changes to the filing system via shelving and to the original order via arrangement of colleagues and professional connections. At some point in administrative history, filing sheets were created to facilitate classification of items by custodians of the archive working with the Campaign for Better Transport. These sheets list title, item type, campaign type, geographical region, and keywords, and were used primarily to classify campaign materials. Save Our Railways (CFBT/3) materials were stored at their offices until Campaign for Better Transport accrued the materials following the conclusion of the Save Our Railways campaign, c. 2001. Jonathan Bray, coordinator of Save Our Railways, pulled select items from the Save Our Railways offices in advance of the accrual by Campaign for Better Transport. As such, the sub-fonds reflects both the arrangement of Jonathan Bray and other Save Our Railways affiliates, as well as Stephen Joseph and individuals commissioned by Campaign for Better Transport to arrange and store their archives. Before deposit, a student was recruited by the Campaign for Better Transport to arrange materials. It is possible the order at time of deposit contains traces of this practice, although it is unclear to what extent or what actions were specifically taken by this individual. At least two other attempts were made to re-arrange the collection when it was still in the custody of Campaign for Better Transport: once by Chris Austin, a researcher into Beeching and railways, and once by Steve Milia, a campaigner against roads and runways. As with the student's work, it is impossible to determine the exact extent and outcomes of these attempts, although it can be surmised that the priorities and interests of these individuals influenced the focus and methodology of their arrangement. It is worth noting that the student ostensibly acted in accordance with a typed document addressed to him and indicating the process he was to follow, which dictated he was to arrange the items into envelopes and to label each envelope with the document type, document name, and year of creation. The envelopes constitute the format in which the majority of the archive was donated to the National Railway Museum in 2018, by longtime director and chair of Campaign for Better Transport, Stephen Joseph. The archive arrived in forty bankers boxes, roughly 10x12x15 inches, each box being labelled with general descriptions of contents on the outside and containing the envelopes on the inside. Boxes were decanted to current storage composition in 2022 by a member of National Railway Museum staff. The 2018 decant involved shifting contents of boxes sequentially into archival boxes and labelling them with box number, deposit container number and container part number, along with keywords on the contents. A separate member of staff repackaged and physically rearranged a portion of the items in 2025 to support quality of conservation and enhance discoverability of the collection items. Three accruals to the archive transpired, one in 2019 from Bob Gwynne; one in 2023 from Mick Hamer, early campaigner with Campaign for Better Transport; and one comprising items accrued by Don Mathew, early affiliate of Campaign for Better Transport. No further accruals are planned, although further accruals are possible from various community members and campaign participants.
Level of description
TOP
Repository name
National Railway Museum, York

Associated people and organisations

Campaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust Biography Biography
The Campaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust (formerly Transport 2000) is a transport policy and environmental pressure group. Founded on 6 February 1973 by Sidney Weighell, deputy general secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen, in collaboration with the Civic Trust, the Conservation Society, and the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, the group is responsible for addressing transport issues in the UK and abroad. In 1980 their business location was 40 James Street, then Walkden House at 10 Melton Street in London until c. 1997, when their business domicile moved to The Impact Centre in London. The organisation is still active as a charity (1101929) and company limited by guarantee (49 43428), and currently based in The Print Rooms, London. In its early years, Transport 2000 Limited was governed by a Board of Directors, who consisted of elected representatives from partner environmental organisations and two representatives from each local group of Transport 2000, guided by a Chairman. Local groups were governed independently and required a license to use the branding of Transport 2000. The first chair was Eric Robinson and the first secretary Michael Harris, the latter being the director of the Railway Industry Association. The organisation received funding from British Rail from 1978, which was used to employ its first staff members: Mick Hamer, a transport campaigner from Friends of the Earth, who was director from 1978, and Nick Lester, co-creator of the London Cycling Campaign. Directorship changed many times throughout the campaign’s history; the role was held by Harley Sherlock, Michael Palin, Stephen Joseph, Susan Hoyle, and Keith Buchan, among others. From 1991 to 2006, strategy and the administration of strategic initiatives were divided between two organisations: Transport 2000 Limited and Transport 2000 Trust. According to Stephen Joseph’s presentation to the Limited Board of Directors in 1992, Transport 2000 Limited set the pace for strategic operations of the group, including ‘to promote a coherent and sustainably viable transport policy’, whereas the Trust was tasked with the development of alternatives and ‘spearheading’ proactive political and social initiatives, working to the strategy set by Limited. The Trust and Limited organisations each had their own chair, who reports to the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees. The Board and Trustees were tasked with approving measures, setting the Annual General Meeting agendas, moderating finances, approving and appointing staff changes, and fundraising. The Trust was registered 08 April 1992 and its operations lasted until 04 August 2005, when it was merged with Transport 2000 Limited following the amended stipulations of the Charities Act 2006. The Campaign took its current name in 2007. The Campaign for Better Transport aimed to address key issues of transport on both local and national levels. Activities centre around three main objectives: public transport, traffic reduction, and environmental sustainability., though focus has shifted over time to address timely aspects of transport in the United Kingdom. Tactics have included lobbying, drafting consultation responses to government green and white papers, stunts, funding research, publishing reports, newsletters, and briefings, and coordinating toolkits for local groups to administer campaigning strategies in their local communities. Notable actions include commenting on the Serpell report, main line electrification, and the Railways Bill, implementing communications infrastructure for building awareness of the effects of deregulation of buses and trains on local constituents, contributing to the Women’s Charter for transport safety and accessibility, funding research on door-to-door and integrated transport, supporting Local Transport Days, researching and lobbying privatised railways and drawing attention to rail line and station closures, as well as celebrating reopenings. Campaign for Better Transport have been especially instrumental in addressing issues such as rail privatisation, climate change, road safety, pedestrian safety, rail reform, transport taxation, bus line retention, fare caps, speed limits, and infrastructure planning, as well as implementing a Company Car Tax. Social inclusion and quality of life are key principles underpinning their work, evidenced in their campaigns to support women and mothers, wheelchair users, economically disadvantaged populations, and inhabitants of rural areas.

Subject
Public transport
Railway transport
Transport policy
Conditions governing access
Access is given in accordance with the NRM access policy. Material from this collection is available to researchers through Search Engine. All researchers must sign data protection forms as a large percentage of the collection contains personally identifiable and sensitive information. Contents diverging from this policy are described at file/item level where personally identifiable information or materials subject to the 20-year rule for government documents is identified. Research requests for these materials will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Conditions governing Reproduction
Copyright lies with the Campaign for Better Transport and are accessible via a CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. Copies may be supplied of items in the collection, provided that the copying process used does not damage the item or is not detrimental to its preservation. Copies will be supplied in accordance with the NRM’s terms and conditions for the supply and reproduction of copies, and the provisions of any relevant copyright legislation.
Appraisal
Appraisal of this collection has been completed at a superficial level. Disposition is possible in cases of duplicates and overlap with existing SMG collection (e.g. issues of Transport Retort).
System of arrangement
Overarching principle of arrangement is respect des fonds, where the original system of arrangement is retained. This system reflects work that the creators commissioned a student to implement, stipulating that items are to be grouped by project and projects are to be grouped by organisational activity (CFBT/1/10). This work suggests that arrangement at point of deposit may have differed from order of arrangement at the record creation and/or storage phases. Structure reflects original order at series level and in most cases file level, where cover sheets were sporadically used to orient items contained in the files. Catalogue reflects this filing system and the overarching series of the archive when possible; in other instances, original order deviates from this structure and takes a more ad hoc format, ostensibly due to spatial limitations or achronological discovery of items belonging to the archive, or to retain thematic grouping despite individual files being intellectually arranged into separate series (e.g. files on taxation span climate change, traffic reduction, and public transport series). At sub-series level, items follow original order and are intellectually arranged according to core functions within the campaign objectives described at series level: policy and parliamentary engagement, collaborative campaigning and contributions to working groups and community groups, and participatory campaign activism. Organisational activities are reflected as series in the catalogue, thus demonstrating an effort to keep physical and intellectual arrangement nearly identical, except where efforts were made by the cataloguer to restore the original order in the physical arrangement where the dominant system of arrangement degraded. The cataloguer retained physical arrangement in instances where retention of the arrangement preserved context about the organisation and its activities, yet intellectual arrangement reflects the overarching principles of arrangement according to business function. Sub-series largely communicate intellectual arrangement, where subordinate levels of arrangement are organised according to method of executing the campaign functions expressed at the series level of description. Files reflect the labelled envelopes in which much of the collection was sorted into prior to deposit. While the text written onto the envelopes has been retained where this information preserves the filing logic of the creator, the original envelopes have been removed as a storage solution and replaced with archival-grade folders to enhance conservation and reduce risks of mechanical damage and chemical deterioration posed by overfilled envelopes and adhesive on envelope flaps. As provenance dictated separation of documents by project, catalogue separates formats (e.g. press releases, press cuttings, photographs stored on CD-ROM) at item level to reflect creator’s project-oriented system of arrangement.