James Milne (railway manager)

He attended Campbell College in Belfast and later moved to Great Britain to study Engineering at the Victoria University of Manchester, graduating in 1904.

[5] From 1938 Milne continued as General Manager but was also deputy chairman of the Railway Executive Committee (REC), a government body responsible for running British railways during the Second World War.

In 1940 Milne was elected as a GWR director but could not take up the role as the REC was a government body.

[13] On 29 July 1944 Paddington station had to be closed because of large crowds trying to leave London for the August Bank holiday and to escape flying bombs.

The GWR had locomotives and coaches available, but were not allowed to run extra trains because of wartime restrictions.

Milne had to threaten to involve the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, before the Ministry of War Transport relented and allowed the extra trains to run.