"Tony Polson" wrote

You still haven't answered Richard J.'s valid question. What evidence
do you have that he was anything other than a highly competent and
powerfully motivated (some might say passionate) railway manager?

There's plenty of evidence that he was a brilliant railway manager. There
are examples he quoted which showed that he was not so good as a practical
railwayman, like the time he rolled a milk churn down the ramp under an
express; when he was word parfect on the Rules of Single Line Working, but
had to turn to the signalman on duty when he was faced with putting in SLW;
like the time when he demonstrated to station masters the technique of
rerailing a wagon in a yard without calling out the breakdown train - then
Hockley had a derailed wagon in the middle of the night. GFF was phoned, and
asked Control 'to tell the station master to pull it on, same as I showed
him.' Half an hour later Control phoned again (barely concealed laughter).
'He has done what you said. He has pulled it broadside across both Main
Lines.'

Peter