After their wartime extensions, top management in all the great armament groups realised the necessity for major redeployment of resources to meet the circumstances of the post-war world. Demand for armaments would decline, though it was impossible to be sure by how much. At the same time opportunities seemed likely to open in serving a world development process held up or distorted for over four years. This was expected to require massive further inputs of capital equipment. The nations and companies that had previously supplied these needs prepared to resume their old role. At home there seemed good reason to expect a surge in investment as old infrastructure and plant, used as never before during the war when neither time nor finance were available for normal replacement, could at last be taken out of commission. In few if any fields were greater developments expected than on the railways.

Between 1900 and 1920 world rail mileage grew by almost half, from 466,000 to 675,000 miles; excluding Europe and the USA the increase was almost 86 per cent, from 141,000 to 262,000 miles. However in 1920 Africa, Latin America and Asia combined still had a shorter mileage than Europe and just over half as much as the USA. It seemed a fair assumption that further growth in underdeveloped economies would bring with it a vast demand for rails, locomotives and other equipment.