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Well, virtually all 'modern' infrastructure was. All the railways, canals, and a lot of roads, e.g. the (tolled) 'New Road', essentially the North London by-pass, nowadays called the Euston/Marylebone Road. We've only really thought about it all as 'national' infrastructure since their nationalisation. However, recently there has been a renewed push for privatisation, e.g. with the M6 Toll Road.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M6_Toll
This I did *not* know:
2.5 million books, including many Mills & Boon novels, were pulped and mixed into the tarmac surface to help absorb water.
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Whittens were still having their timber delivered by barge back in the 70s.
There used to be a B&W photo of barges delivering, in their office.
Oliver Schick
JurekB
@Skülly
Heard recently from an SE local that the Surrey Canal was a failed venture and operated for a really short time. Funny to think of old infrastructure like canals as private enterprises.