SO the appearance of a Humphrey Bogart lookalike at the National Railway Museum is helping to "turn the clock back to 1948" (July 3). Well, not exactly.

The carriage behind the actors is an East Coast Joint Stock vehicle built in 1897 and restored to its original condition.

The East Coast Joint Stock carriages were owned by the Great Northern, North Eastern and North British Railways between 1868 and 1922 for use on King's Cross-Edinburgh expresses but ceased to carry that ownership title following the formation of the London & North Eastern Railway in 1923.

So there isn't really any relationship between the carriage in the photograph and the creation of British Railways in 1948! Still, why let historical authenticity stand in the way of a story?

Michael Blakemore,

De Grey Terrace, York.

Updated: 10:39 Tuesday, July 08, 2003