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London and North Western Railway

January 26, 2023

This article is about the historical railway company. For the modern company, see London Northwestern Railway.

The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom.

London and North Western Railway
LNWR crest
Overview
HeadquartersEuston railway station
Dates of operation16 July 1846–31 December 1922
PredecessorGrand Junction Railway
London and Birmingham Railway
Manchester and Birmingham Railway
SuccessorLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Length2,667.5 miles (4,292.9 km) in 1923

In 1923, it became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) railway, and, in 1948, the London Midland Region of British Railways: the LNWR is effectively an ancestor of today's West Coast Main Line.

History

 
Early 1900s map of the LNWR system and that of their Scottish partners, the Caledonian Railway (north of Carlisle) The thick black lines denote the lines of the two companies
 
LNWR's initials carved in Portland Stone on one of Euston Station's entrance lodges

The company was formed on 16 July 1846 by the amalgamation of the Grand Junction Railway, London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. This move was prompted, in part, by the Great Western Railway's plans for a railway north from Oxford to Birmingham.[1] The company initially had a network of approximately 350 miles (560 km),[1] connecting London with Birmingham, Crewe, Chester, Liverpool and Manchester.

The headquarters were at Euston railway station. As traffic increased, it was greatly expanded with the opening in 1849 of the Great Hall, designed by Philip Charles Hardwick in classical style. It was 126 ft (38 m) long, 61 ft (19 m) wide and 64 ft (20 m) high and cost £150,000[2] (equivalent to £16,550,000 in 2021).[3] The station stood on Drummond Street.[4] Further expansion resulted in two additional platforms in the 1870s with four more in the 1890s, bringing the total to 15.[5]

The LNWR described itself as the Premier Line. This was justified, as it included the pioneering Liverpool & Manchester Railway of 1830 and the original LNWR main line linking London, Birmingham and Lancashire had been the first big railway in Britain, opened throughout in 1838. As the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom, it collected a greater revenue than any other railway company of its era.[1]

With the Grand Junction Railway acquisition of the North Union Railway in 1846, the London and North Western Railway operated as far north as Preston.[6] In 1859, the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway amalgamated with the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway and this combined enterprise was leased to the London and North Western Railway, giving it a direct route from London to Carlisle.[7]

In 1858, they merged with the Chester and Holyhead Railway and became responsible for the lucrative Irish Mail trains via the North Wales Main Line to Holyhead and handled the Irish Mail.[8]

On 1 February 1859, the company launched the limited mail service, which was only allowed to take three passenger coaches, one each for Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth. The Postmaster General was always willing to allow a fourth coach, provided the increased weight did not cause time to be lost in running. The train was timed to leave Euston at 20.30 and operated until the institution of a dedicated post train, wholly of Post Office vehicles, in 1885.[9] On 1 October 1873 the first sleeping carriage ran between Euston and Glasgow, attached to the limited mail. It ran three nights a week in each direction. On 1 February 1874 a second carriage was provided and the service ran every night.[9]

In 1860, the company pioneered the use of the water trough designed by John Ramsbottom.[10][11] It was introduced on a section of level track at Mochdre, between Llandudno Junction and Colwyn Bay.[9]

 
The erecting shop at the Crewe Locomotive Works ca. 1890

The company inherited a number of manufacturing facilities from the companies with which it merged, but these were consolidated and in 1862, locomotive construction and maintenance was done at the Crewe Locomotive Works, carriage building was done at Wolverton and wagon building was concentrated at Earlestown.

At the core of the LNWR system was the main line network connecting London Euston with the major cities of Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, and (through co-operation with the Caledonian Railway) Edinburgh and Glasgow. This route is today known as the West Coast Main Line. A ferry service also linked Holyhead to Greenore in County Louth, where the LNWR owned the 26-mile (42 km) Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway, which connected to other lines of the Irish mainline network at Dundalk and Newry.[12]

The LNWR also had a main line connecting Liverpool and Manchester with Leeds, and secondary routes extending to Nottingham, Derby, Peterborough and South Wales.[13]

At its peak, just before World War I, it ran a route mileage of more than 1,500 miles (2,400 km), and employed 111,000 people. In 1913, the company achieved a total revenue of £17,219,060 (equivalent to £1,802,570,000 in 2021)[3] with working expenses of £11,322,164[14] (equivalent to £1,185,260,000 in 2021).[3]

On 1 January 1922, one year before it amalgamated with other railways to create the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the LNWR amalgamated with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (including its subsidiary the Dearne Valley Railway) and at the same time absorbed the North London Railway and the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company, both of which were previously controlled by the LNWR. With this, the LNWR achieved a route mileage (including joint lines, and lines leased or worked) of 2,707.88 miles (4,357.91 km).[15][16]

The company built a war memorial in the form of an obelisk outside Euston station to commemorate the 3,719 of its employees who died in the First World War. Following the Second World War, the names of the LMS's casualties were added to the LNWR's memorial.[17]

Electrification

Main article: LNWR electric units

From 1909 to 1922, the LNWR undertook a large-scale project to electrify the whole of its London inner-suburban network. The London and North Western Railway London inner-suburban network, encompassed the lines from London Broad Street to Richmond, London Euston to Watford, with branch lines such as Watford to Croxley Green. There were also links to the District Railway at Earl's Court and over the route to Richmond. With the Bakerloo Tube Line being extended over the Watford DC lines, the railway was electrified at 630 V DC fourth rail.[clarification needed] The electricity was generated at the LNWR's power station in Stonebridge Park and a depot built at Croxley Green.

Successors

The LNWR became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) railway when the railways of Great Britain were merged in the grouping of 1923. Ex-LNWR lines formed the core of the LMS's Western Division.

Nationalisation followed in 1948, with the English and Welsh lines of the LMS becoming the London Midland Region of British Railways. Some former LNWR routes were subsequently closed, notably the lines running East to West across the Midlands (e.g. Peterborough to Northampton and Cambridge to Oxford), but others were developed as part of the Inter City network, notably the main lines from London to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Carlisle, collectively known in the modern era as the West Coast Main Line. These were electrified in the 1960s and 1970s, and further upgraded in the 1990s and 2000s, with trains now running at up to 125 mph. Other LNWR lines survive as part of commuter networks around major cities such as Birmingham and Manchester. In 2017 it was announced that the new franchisee for the West Midlands and semi-fast West Coast services between London and North West England would utilise the brand London Northwestern Railway as an homage to the LNWR.

Acquisitions

Locomotives

 
Illustration of a LNWR passenger locomotive, c. 1852
Main article: Locomotives of the London and North Western Railway

The LNWR's main engineering works were at Crewe (locomotives), Wolverton (carriages) and Earlestown (wagons). Locomotives were usually painted green at first, but in 1873 black was adopted as the standard livery. This finish has been described as "blackberry black".

Accidents and incidents

Major accidents on the LNWR include:-

  • On 26 March 1850, the boiler of a locomotive exploded at Wolverton, Buckinghamshire due to the tampering of the safety valves. One person was injured.[20]
  • On 30 April 1851 a train returning from Chester Races broke down in Sutton tunnel, and the following train ran into it. Six passengers were killed.[9]
  • On 6 September 1851 a train run for the Great Exhibition returning from Euston to Oxford derailed at Bicester and six passengers were killed.[9]
  • On 6 March 1853, the boiler of a locomotive exploded at Longsight, Lancashire. Six people were killed and the engine shed was severely damaged.[20]
  • On 27 August 1860 a passenger train collided with a goods train at Craven Arms and one passenger was killed.[9]
  • On 16 November 1860 the Irish night mail ran into a cattle train at Atherstone. The fireman of the mail train, and nine drovers in the cattle train were killed.[9]
  • On 11 June 1861, a cast-iron bridge collapsed under a freight train at Leek Wootton, Warwickshire. Both engine crew were killed.
  • On 2 September 1861 a ballast train came out of a siding onto the main line just past Kentish Town Junction without the signalman's permission, and an excursion train from Kew ran past the signals and collided with it, resulting in the deaths of fourteen passengers and two employees.[9]
  • On 29 June 1867, a passenger train ran into the rear of a coal train at Warrington, Cheshire due to a pointsman's error which was compounded by the lack of interlocking between points and signals. Eight people were killed and 33 were injured.
  • On 20 August 1868, a rake of wagons ran away from Llandulas, Denbighshire during shunting operations. The wagons subsequently collided with the Irish Mail at Abergele, Denbighshire. Kerosene being carried in the wagons set the wreck on fire. Thirty-three people were killed in what was then the deadliest rail accident to have occurred in the United Kingdom.
  • On 14 September 1870, a mail train was diverted into a siding at Tamworth station, Staffordshire due to a signalman's error. The train crashed through the buffers and ended up in the River Anker, killing three people.[21]
  • In 1870, a North Eastern Railway freight train overran signals and collided with a passenger train at St. Nicholas Crossing, Carlisle, Cumberland. Five people were killed. The driver of the freight train was intoxicated.[21]
  • On 26 November 1870, a mail train was in a rear-end collision with a freight train at Harrow, Middlesex. Eight people were killed.[21]
  • On 2 August 1873, a passenger train derailed at Wigan, Lancashire due to excessive speed. Thirteen people were killed and 30 were injured.
  • On 22 December 1894, a wagon was derailed fouling the main line at Chelford, Cheshire. It was run into by an express passenger train, which was derailed. Fourteen people were killed and 48 were injured.
  • On 15 August 1895, an express passenger train was derailed at Preston, Lancashire due to excessive speed on a curve. One person was killed.[22]
  • On 12 January 1899, An express freight train was derailed at Penmaenmawr, Caernarfonshire due to the trackbed being washed away by the sea during a storm. Both locomotive crew were killed.[23]
  • On 15 August 1903, two passenger trains collided at Preston, Lancashire due to faulty points.[24]
  • On 15 October 1907, a mail train was derailed at Shrewsbury, Shropshire due to excessive speed on a curve. Eighteen people were killed.[25]
  • On 19 August 1909, a passenger train was derailed at Friezland, West Yorkshire. Two people were killed.[26]
  • On 5 December 1910, a passenger train was in a rear-end collision at Willesden Junction, London. Three people were killed and more than 40 were injured.[27]
  • On 17 September 1912, the driver of an express train misread signals at Ditton Junction, Cheshire. The train was derailed when it ran over points at an excessive speed. Fifteen people were killed.
  • On 14 August 1915, an express passenger train was derailed at Weedon, Northamptonshire due to a locomotive defect. Ten people were killed and 21 were injured.
  • On 11 November 1921, the boiler of a locomotive exploded at Buxton, Derbyshire. Two people were killed.[28]

Minor incidents include:-

  • In 1900, wagons of a permanent way train carrying sleepers were set on fire by the heat of the sun at Earlestown, Lancashire, destroying a number of them.[25]

Ships

Main article: List of London and North Western Railway ships

The LNWR operated a number of ships on Irish Sea crossings between Holyhead and Dublin, Howth, Kingstown or Greenore. At Greenore, the LNWR built and operated the Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway to link the port with the Belfast–Dublin line operated by the Great Northern Railway.

The LNWR also operated a joint service with the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway from Fleetwood to Belfast and Derry.

Notable people

Chairmen of the Board of Directors

Members of the Board of Directors

General Managers

Chief Civil Engineers

Locomotive Superintendents and Chief Mechanical Engineers

Southern Division:

North Eastern Division:

NE Division became part of N Division in 1857.

Northern Division:

 
LNWR No. 1881, a Webb 0-8-0 four cylinder compound – frontispiece from The Railway Magazine June 1903

Northern and Southern Divisions amalgamated from April 1862:

Solicitors

Preservation

  • Sections of the former L&NWR are preserved as the Battlefield Line Railway, Nene Valley Railway and Northampton & Lamport Railway, the latter giving the name Premier Line to its quarterly journal.[39]
  • A section of the former L&NWR line and station buildings are preserved at Quainton near Aylesbury. It is administered by the Buckinghamshire Railway preservation Society and houses some original L&NWR rolling stock in the former Oxford Rewley Road station. It regularly runs steam trains using various locomotives.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Ferneyhough, Frank (1975). The history of railways in Britain. Reading: Osprey. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-85045-060-6.
  2. ^ "Opening of the new Grand Station and Vestibule of the London and North-Western Railway". Chelmsford Chronicle. British Newspaper Archive. 25 May 1849. Retrieved 1 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ a b c UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  4. ^ www.motco.com 18 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine – 1862 map, showing position of 1849 station.
  5. ^ . Network Rail. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  6. ^ "One Hundred Years of British Railways. No. XI. Part II - The first half century. The London and North Western Railway". The Engineer: 288–290. 12 September 1924.
  7. ^ "One Hundred Years of British Railways. No. XII. Part II - The first half century. The London and North Western Railway". The Engineer: 319–321. 19 September 1924.
  8. ^ "The Importance of Passenger Traffic". London and North Western Railway Society. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h "One Hundred Years of British Railways. No. XIII. Part II - The first half century. The London and North Western Railway". The Engineer: 354–356. 26 September 1924.
  10. ^ Robbins, Michael (1967). Points and Signals. London: George Allen & Unwin.[page needed]
  11. ^ Acworth, J. M. (1889). The Railways of England. London: John Murray.[page needed]
  12. ^ Barrie, D. S. M. (1957). The Dundalk, Newry & Greenore Railway and the Holyhead - Greenore Steamship Service. Usk, UK: The Oakwood Press.
  13. ^ "Map of LNWR". London and North Western Railway Society. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  14. ^ "London and North-Western Railway". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. British Newspaper Archive. 21 February 1914. Retrieved 1 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ^ Reed, M. C. (1996). The London & North Western Railway. Penryn: Atlantic Transport Publishers. pp. 223–4. ISBN 0-906899-66-4.
  16. ^ Marshall, John (1970). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. Vol. 2. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 256. ISBN 0-7153-4906-6.
  17. ^ Historic England. "War Memorial (1342044)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  18. ^ Simpson, Bill (1989). The Aylesbury Railway: The First Branch Line, Cheddington-Aylesbury, Opened 1839. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 9780860934387.
  19. ^ Banbury To Verney Junction (Lnwr)[permanent dead link]. Disused-rlys.fotopic.net. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  20. ^ a b Hewison, Christian H. (1983). Locomotive Boiler Explosions. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 32, 36–37. ISBN 0-7153-8305-1.
  21. ^ a b c Hall, Stanley (1990). The Railway Detectives. London: Ian Allan. pp. 38–40. ISBN 0-7110-1929-0.
  22. ^ Trevena, Arthur (1981). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 2. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 7. ISBN 0-906899-03-6.
  23. ^ Trevena, Arthur (1981). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 2. Redruth: Atlantic Books. pp. 15–16. ISBN 0-906899-03-6.
  24. ^ Earnshaw, Alan (1990). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 6. Penryn: Atlantic Books. p. 8. ISBN 0-906899-37-0.
  25. ^ a b Trevena, Arthur (1980). Trains in Trouble. Vol. 1. Redruth: Atlantic Books. pp. 16, 24. ISBN 0-906899-01-X.
  26. ^ Hoole, Ken (1982). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 3. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 15. ISBN 0-906899-05-2.
  27. ^ Earnshaw, Alan (1991). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 7. Penryn: Atlantic Books. p. 13. ISBN 0-906899-50-8.
  28. ^ Earnshaw, Alan (1993). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 8. Penryn: Atlantic Books. p. 11. ISBN 0-906899-52-4.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Bradshaw's Railway Manual, Shareholders' Guide and Official Directory for 1905. London: Henry Blacklock & Co. Ltd. pp. 201–202.
  30. ^ Railway Reminiscences by George P. Neele Late Superintendent of the Line of the London and North Western Railway, Morquorquodale & Co., London 1904, Chapter VII
  31. ^ Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1870
  32. ^ Unknown (1894). "Obituary, John Hick, 1815-1894". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 117 (1894): 379–380. doi:10.1680/imotp.1894.19959. ISSN 1753-7843.
  33. ^ "Death of Mr. William Baker". Morning Post. England. 21 December 1878. Retrieved 20 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  34. ^ "Death of a Railway Engineer". Nuneaton Observer. England. 14 February 1902. Retrieved 20 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  35. ^ "New Engineer to the London and North-Western Railway". Belfast News-Letter. Northern Ireland. 8 March 1902. Retrieved 20 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  36. ^ "London and North-Western Railway Staff Changes". Railway News. England. 9 October 1909. Retrieved 20 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  37. ^ a b c Marshall, John (1978). A Biographical Dictionary of Railway Engineers. David & Charles. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-7153-7489-4.
  38. ^ "Samuel Carter". Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  39. ^ Premier Line 13 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Northampton and Lamport Railway (26 January 2008). Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  • Reed, M. C. (1996). The London & North Western Railway. Penryn: Atlantic Transport. ISBN 978-0-906899-66-3

Further reading

  • Measom, George (1859), Official Illustrated Guide to the North-Western Railway, London: W.H. Smith and Son
  • Shaw, George (1876), The official tourists' picturesque guide to the London and North-western Railway : and other railways with which it is immediately in connection, embracing information respecting tours in England, Ireland, and Scotland : specially prepared for the use of American tourists, London, Boston: Norton and Shaw, Estes and Lauriat, OCLC 4038942, OL 26199401M
  • Steel, Wilfred L. (1914), The history of the London & North Western Railway, Railway and Travel Monthly
  • Darroch, G. R. S. (1920), Deeds of a great railway; a record of the enterprise and achievements of the London and North-Western Railway Company during the Great War, John. Murray
  • Head, Francis Bond (1849), Stokers and pokers; or, The London and North-Western Railway, the electric telegraph, and the Railway Clearing-House, John. Murray, 1861 edition
  • Findlay, George (1889), The Working and Management of an English Railway  (2nd ed.)
  • Smith, Neil (March 2021), The London & North Western Railway, Articles from the Railway Magazine Archives, Pen & Sword, ISBN 978-1-5267-8137-6

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to London and North Western Railway.
  • "J. Hudson & Co Beaufort whistle, Railway, L&NWR, Kings Whistle, Made by J.Hudson & Co. One of their Best Made models.", Whistle Museum (image), archived from the original on 9 February 2013
  • London and North Western Railway Society, Registered Charity L&NWR Society No. 1110210

January 26, 2023
london, north, western, railway, this, article, about, historical, railway, company, modern, company, london, northwestern, railway, lnwr, british, railway, company, between, 1846, 1922, late, 19th, century, largest, joint, stock, company, united, kingdom, lnw. This article is about the historical railway company For the modern company see London Northwestern Railway The London and North Western Railway LNWR L amp NWR was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922 In the late 19th century the L amp NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom London and North Western RailwayLNWR crestOverviewHeadquartersEuston railway stationDates of operation16 July 1846 31 December 1922PredecessorGrand Junction RailwayLondon and Birmingham RailwayManchester and Birmingham RailwaySuccessorLondon Midland and Scottish RailwayTechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm Length2 667 5 miles 4 292 9 km in 1923In 1923 it became a constituent of the London Midland and Scottish LMS railway and in 1948 the London Midland Region of British Railways the LNWR is effectively an ancestor of today s West Coast Main Line Contents 1 History 2 Electrification 3 Successors 4 Acquisitions 5 Locomotives 6 Accidents and incidents 7 Ships 8 Notable people 8 1 Chairmen of the Board of Directors 8 2 Members of the Board of Directors 8 3 General Managers 8 4 Chief Civil Engineers 8 5 Locomotive Superintendents and Chief Mechanical Engineers 8 6 Solicitors 9 Preservation 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External linksHistory Edit Early 1900s map of the LNWR system and that of their Scottish partners the Caledonian Railway north of Carlisle The thick black lines denote the lines of the two companies LNWR s initials carved in Portland Stone on one of Euston Station s entrance lodges The company was formed on 16 July 1846 by the amalgamation of the Grand Junction Railway London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway This move was prompted in part by the Great Western Railway s plans for a railway north from Oxford to Birmingham 1 The company initially had a network of approximately 350 miles 560 km 1 connecting London with Birmingham Crewe Chester Liverpool and Manchester The headquarters were at Euston railway station As traffic increased it was greatly expanded with the opening in 1849 of the Great Hall designed by Philip Charles Hardwick in classical style It was 126 ft 38 m long 61 ft 19 m wide and 64 ft 20 m high and cost 150 000 2 equivalent to 16 550 000 in 2021 3 The station stood on Drummond Street 4 Further expansion resulted in two additional platforms in the 1870s with four more in the 1890s bringing the total to 15 5 The LNWR described itself as the Premier Line This was justified as it included the pioneering Liverpool amp Manchester Railway of 1830 and the original LNWR main line linking London Birmingham and Lancashire had been the first big railway in Britain opened throughout in 1838 As the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom it collected a greater revenue than any other railway company of its era 1 With the Grand Junction Railway acquisition of the North Union Railway in 1846 the London and North Western Railway operated as far north as Preston 6 In 1859 the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway amalgamated with the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway and this combined enterprise was leased to the London and North Western Railway giving it a direct route from London to Carlisle 7 In 1858 they merged with the Chester and Holyhead Railway and became responsible for the lucrative Irish Mail trains via the North Wales Main Line to Holyhead and handled the Irish Mail 8 On 1 February 1859 the company launched the limited mail service which was only allowed to take three passenger coaches one each for Glasgow Edinburgh and Perth The Postmaster General was always willing to allow a fourth coach provided the increased weight did not cause time to be lost in running The train was timed to leave Euston at 20 30 and operated until the institution of a dedicated post train wholly of Post Office vehicles in 1885 9 On 1 October 1873 the first sleeping carriage ran between Euston and Glasgow attached to the limited mail It ran three nights a week in each direction On 1 February 1874 a second carriage was provided and the service ran every night 9 In 1860 the company pioneered the use of the water trough designed by John Ramsbottom 10 11 It was introduced on a section of level track at Mochdre between Llandudno Junction and Colwyn Bay 9 The erecting shop at the Crewe Locomotive Works ca 1890 The company inherited a number of manufacturing facilities from the companies with which it merged but these were consolidated and in 1862 locomotive construction and maintenance was done at the Crewe Locomotive Works carriage building was done at Wolverton and wagon building was concentrated at Earlestown At the core of the LNWR system was the main line network connecting London Euston with the major cities of Birmingham Liverpool and Manchester and through co operation with the Caledonian Railway Edinburgh and Glasgow This route is today known as the West Coast Main Line A ferry service also linked Holyhead to Greenore in County Louth where the LNWR owned the 26 mile 42 km Dundalk Newry and Greenore Railway which connected to other lines of the Irish mainline network at Dundalk and Newry 12 The LNWR also had a main line connecting Liverpool and Manchester with Leeds and secondary routes extending to Nottingham Derby Peterborough and South Wales 13 At its peak just before World War I it ran a route mileage of more than 1 500 miles 2 400 km and employed 111 000 people In 1913 the company achieved a total revenue of 17 219 060 equivalent to 1 802 570 000 in 2021 3 with working expenses of 11 322 164 14 equivalent to 1 185 260 000 in 2021 3 On 1 January 1922 one year before it amalgamated with other railways to create the London Midland and Scottish Railway LMS the LNWR amalgamated with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway including its subsidiary the Dearne Valley Railway and at the same time absorbed the North London Railway and the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company both of which were previously controlled by the LNWR With this the LNWR achieved a route mileage including joint lines and lines leased or worked of 2 707 88 miles 4 357 91 km 15 16 The company built a war memorial in the form of an obelisk outside Euston station to commemorate the 3 719 of its employees who died in the First World War Following the Second World War the names of the LMS s casualties were added to the LNWR s memorial 17 Electrification EditMain article LNWR electric units From 1909 to 1922 the LNWR undertook a large scale project to electrify the whole of its London inner suburban network The London and North Western Railway London inner suburban network encompassed the lines from London Broad Street to Richmond London Euston to Watford with branch lines such as Watford to Croxley Green There were also links to the District Railway at Earl s Court and over the route to Richmond With the Bakerloo Tube Line being extended over the Watford DC lines the railway was electrified at 630 V DC fourth rail clarification needed The electricity was generated at the LNWR s power station in Stonebridge Park and a depot built at Croxley Green Successors EditThe LNWR became a constituent of the London Midland and Scottish LMS railway when the railways of Great Britain were merged in the grouping of 1923 Ex LNWR lines formed the core of the LMS s Western Division Nationalisation followed in 1948 with the English and Welsh lines of the LMS becoming the London Midland Region of British Railways Some former LNWR routes were subsequently closed notably the lines running East to West across the Midlands e g Peterborough to Northampton and Cambridge to Oxford but others were developed as part of the Inter City network notably the main lines from London to Birmingham Manchester Liverpool and Carlisle collectively known in the modern era as the West Coast Main Line These were electrified in the 1960s and 1970s and further upgraded in the 1990s and 2000s with trains now running at up to 125 mph Other LNWR lines survive as part of commuter networks around major cities such as Birmingham and Manchester In 2017 it was announced that the new franchisee for the West Midlands and semi fast West Coast services between London and North West England would utilise the brand London Northwestern Railway as an homage to the LNWR Acquisitions EditThis list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items August 2008 Anglesey Central Railway 1876 Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway partnership with the Midland Railway 1873 Aylesbury Railway 18 1846 Bedford and Cambridge Railway 1865 Birkenhead Railway 1861 jointly with GWR Birmingham Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway 1847 the Stour Valley Line Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway 1869 Brynmawr and Western Valleys Railway 1902 jointly with GWR Buckinghamshire Railway 19 1847 Cannock Chase Railways 1863 Cannock Mineral Railway 1869 Carnarvon and Llanberis Railway 1870 Carnarvonshire Railway 1870 Central Wales Railway 1868 Central Wales and Carmarthen Junction Railway 1891 Central Wales Extension Railway 1868 Chester and Holyhead Railway 1858 Cockermouth and Workington Railway 1866 Conway and Llanrwst Railway 1867 Cromford and High Peak Railway 1862 Denbigh Ruthin and Corwen Railway 1879 Dundalk Newry and Greenore Railway 1869 Fleetwood Preston and West Riding Junction Railway 1867 jointly with Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Hampstead Junction Railway 1867 Harrow and Stanmore Railway 1899 Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and Canal 1847 Knighton Railway 1863 Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway 1921 Lancashire Union Railway 1883 jointly with Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Lancaster and Carlisle Railway 1859 Leeds Dewsbury and Manchester Railway 1847 Ludlow and Clee Hill Railway 1892 jointly with GWR Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway 1849 jointly with Sheffield Ashton under Lyne and Manchester Railway Merthyr Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway 1862 Nerquis Railway 1866 Newport Pagnell Railway 1875 North and South Western Junction Railway 1871 jointly with the Midland Railway and the North London Railway North London Railway 1909 NLR retained own Board Northampton and Peterborough Railway 1846 Oldham Ashton and Guide Bridge Railway 1862 jointly with the Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Railway 1885 jointly with Midland Railway Caledonian Railway and Glasgow and South Western Railway Preston and Wyre Railway 1847 jointly with Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Rugby and Leamington Railway 1848 Rugby and Stamford Railway 1846 St George s Harbour 1861 St Helens Canal and Railway 1864 Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway 1862 jointly with GWR and West Midland Railway Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway 1864 jointly with GWR from 1865 Shropshire Union Railways and Canal 1847 Sirhowy Railway 1876 South Leicestershire Railway 1867 South Staffordshire Railway 1861 Stockport Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway 1866 Trent Valley Railway 1847 Tenbury Railway 1866 jointly with GWR from 1869 Vale of Clwyd Railway 1867 Vale of Towy Railway 1884 jointly with GWR from 1889 Warrington and Stockport Railway 1859 Watford and Rickmansworth Railway 1881 West London Extension Railway 1859 jointly with GWR LSWR and LBSCR Whitehaven Cleator and Egremont Railway 1877 jointly with Furness Railway from 1878 Whitehaven Junction Railway 1866Locomotives Edit Illustration of a LNWR passenger locomotive c 1852 Main article Locomotives of the London and North Western Railway The LNWR s main engineering works were at Crewe locomotives Wolverton carriages and Earlestown wagons Locomotives were usually painted green at first but in 1873 black was adopted as the standard livery This finish has been described as blackberry black Accidents and incidents EditMajor accidents on the LNWR include On 26 March 1850 the boiler of a locomotive exploded at Wolverton Buckinghamshire due to the tampering of the safety valves One person was injured 20 On 30 April 1851 a train returning from Chester Races broke down in Sutton tunnel and the following train ran into it Six passengers were killed 9 On 6 September 1851 a train run for the Great Exhibition returning from Euston to Oxford derailed at Bicester and six passengers were killed 9 On 6 March 1853 the boiler of a locomotive exploded at Longsight Lancashire Six people were killed and the engine shed was severely damaged 20 On 27 August 1860 a passenger train collided with a goods train at Craven Arms and one passenger was killed 9 On 16 November 1860 the Irish night mail ran into a cattle train at Atherstone The fireman of the mail train and nine drovers in the cattle train were killed 9 On 11 June 1861 a cast iron bridge collapsed under a freight train at Leek Wootton Warwickshire Both engine crew were killed On 2 September 1861 a ballast train came out of a siding onto the main line just past Kentish Town Junction without the signalman s permission and an excursion train from Kew ran past the signals and collided with it resulting in the deaths of fourteen passengers and two employees 9 On 29 June 1867 a passenger train ran into the rear of a coal train at Warrington Cheshire due to a pointsman s error which was compounded by the lack of interlocking between points and signals Eight people were killed and 33 were injured On 20 August 1868 a rake of wagons ran away from Llandulas Denbighshire during shunting operations The wagons subsequently collided with the Irish Mail at Abergele Denbighshire Kerosene being carried in the wagons set the wreck on fire Thirty three people were killed in what was then the deadliest rail accident to have occurred in the United Kingdom On 14 September 1870 a mail train was diverted into a siding at Tamworth station Staffordshire due to a signalman s error The train crashed through the buffers and ended up in the River Anker killing three people 21 In 1870 a North Eastern Railway freight train overran signals and collided with a passenger train at St Nicholas Crossing Carlisle Cumberland Five people were killed The driver of the freight train was intoxicated 21 On 26 November 1870 a mail train was in a rear end collision with a freight train at Harrow Middlesex Eight people were killed 21 On 2 August 1873 a passenger train derailed at Wigan Lancashire due to excessive speed Thirteen people were killed and 30 were injured On 22 December 1894 a wagon was derailed fouling the main line at Chelford Cheshire It was run into by an express passenger train which was derailed Fourteen people were killed and 48 were injured On 15 August 1895 an express passenger train was derailed at Preston Lancashire due to excessive speed on a curve One person was killed 22 On 12 January 1899 An express freight train was derailed at Penmaenmawr Caernarfonshire due to the trackbed being washed away by the sea during a storm Both locomotive crew were killed 23 On 15 August 1903 two passenger trains collided at Preston Lancashire due to faulty points 24 On 15 October 1907 a mail train was derailed at Shrewsbury Shropshire due to excessive speed on a curve Eighteen people were killed 25 On 19 August 1909 a passenger train was derailed at Friezland West Yorkshire Two people were killed 26 On 5 December 1910 a passenger train was in a rear end collision at Willesden Junction London Three people were killed and more than 40 were injured 27 On 17 September 1912 the driver of an express train misread signals at Ditton Junction Cheshire The train was derailed when it ran over points at an excessive speed Fifteen people were killed On 14 August 1915 an express passenger train was derailed at Weedon Northamptonshire due to a locomotive defect Ten people were killed and 21 were injured On 11 November 1921 the boiler of a locomotive exploded at Buxton Derbyshire Two people were killed 28 Minor incidents include In 1900 wagons of a permanent way train carrying sleepers were set on fire by the heat of the sun at Earlestown Lancashire destroying a number of them 25 Ships EditMain article List of London and North Western Railway ships The LNWR operated a number of ships on Irish Sea crossings between Holyhead and Dublin Howth Kingstown or Greenore At Greenore the LNWR built and operated the Dundalk Newry and Greenore Railway to link the port with the Belfast Dublin line operated by the Great Northern Railway The LNWR also operated a joint service with the Lancashire amp Yorkshire Railway from Fleetwood to Belfast and Derry Notable people EditChairmen of the Board of Directors Edit 1846 1852 George Glyn later 1st Baron Wolverton 1852 1853 Major General George Anson 1853 1861 Marquess of Chandos later 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos 1861 Admiral Constantine Richard Moorsom 1861 1891 Richard Moon Sir Richard Moon from 1887 1891 1911 The Lord Stalbridge 1911 1921 Gilbert Claughton Sir Gilbert Claughton from 1912 1921 1923 Hon Charles N Lawrence later Baron Lawrence of Kingsgate Members of the Board of Directors Edit John Pares Bickersteth 29 Michael Linning Melville 30 Frederick Baynes 29 Henry Booth John Albert Bright 29 Ralph Brocklebank 29 Sir Thomas Brooke 1st Baronet 29 Philip Henry Chambres 29 William E Dorrington 29 Edmund Faber 1st Baron Faber 29 Alfred Fletcher 29 Samuel Robert Graves 31 Rupert Guinness 2nd Earl of Iveagh 29 Theodore Julius Hare 29 John Hick 32 The Hon A H Holland Hibbert 29 Sir William Houldsworth 1st Baronet 29 J Bruce Ismay 29 Lieut Col Amelius Lockwood 1st Baron Lambourne 29 The Hon William Lowther 29 Brigadier General Lewis Vivian Loyd 29 Miles MacInnes 29 Edward Nettlefold 29 David Plunket 1st Baron Rathmore 29 Cromartie Sutherland Leveson Gower 4th Duke of Sutherland 29 Henry Ward 29 General Managers Edit 1846 1858 Captain Mark Huish 1858 1874 William Cawkwell 1874 1893 Sir George Findlay knighted 1892 1893 1908 Sir Frederick Harrison knighted in 1902 1909 1914 Sir Frank Ree knighted 1913 1914 Sir Robert Turnbull knighted 1913 1914 1919 Sir Guy Calthrop made a baronet 1918 1919 1920 Isaac Thomas Williams knighted c 1919 1920 1923 Arthur Watson Chief Civil Engineers Edit Robert Stephenson until 1859 William Baker 1859 1878 33 Francis Stevenson 1879 1902 34 Edward Baylies Thornhill 1902 35 1909 Ernest Frederic Crosbie Trench 1909 36 1923 afterwards chief engineer of the London Midland and Scottish Railway Locomotive Superintendents and Chief Mechanical Engineers Edit Southern Division 1846 1847 Edward Bury 1847 1862 James McConnellNorth Eastern Division 1846 1857 John Ramsbottom 37 NE Division became part of N Division in 1857 Northern Division 1846 1857 Francis Trevithick 1857 1862 John Ramsbottom 37 LNWR No 1881 a Webb 0 8 0 four cylinder compound frontispiece from The Railway Magazine June 1903 Northern and Southern Divisions amalgamated from April 1862 1862 1871 John Ramsbottom 37 1871 1903 Francis William Webb 1903 1909 George Whale 1909 1920 Charles Bowen Cooke 1920 1921 Hewitt Pearson Montague Beames 1922 George Hughes ex Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Solicitors Edit 1830 1861 Samuel Carter with continuing role for subsidiary companies 38 Preservation EditSections of the former L amp NWR are preserved as the Battlefield Line Railway Nene Valley Railway and Northampton amp Lamport Railway the latter giving the name Premier Line to its quarterly journal 39 A section of the former L amp NWR line and station buildings are preserved at Quainton near Aylesbury It is administered by the Buckinghamshire Railway preservation Society and houses some original L amp NWR rolling stock in the former Oxford Rewley Road station It regularly runs steam trains using various locomotives See also EditGreat Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway Nickey Line Croxley Rail Link Rail transport in Great BritainReferences Edit a b c Ferneyhough Frank 1975 The history of railways in Britain Reading Osprey p 111 ISBN 978 0 85045 060 6 Opening of the new Grand Station and Vestibule of the London and North Western Railway Chelmsford Chronicle British Newspaper Archive 25 May 1849 Retrieved 1 August 2016 via British Newspaper Archive a b c UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark Gregory 2017 The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain 1209 to Present New Series MeasuringWorth Retrieved 11 June 2022 www motco com Archived 18 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine 1862 map showing position of 1849 station Euston Station London Network Rail Archived from the original on 18 February 2013 Retrieved 22 February 2013 One Hundred Years of British Railways No XI Part II The first half century The London and North Western Railway The Engineer 288 290 12 September 1924 One Hundred Years of British Railways No XII Part II The first half century The London and North Western Railway The Engineer 319 321 19 September 1924 The Importance of Passenger Traffic London and North Western Railway Society Retrieved 24 February 2013 a b c d e f g h One Hundred Years of British Railways No XIII Part II The first half century The London and North Western Railway The Engineer 354 356 26 September 1924 Robbins Michael 1967 Points and Signals London George Allen amp Unwin page needed Acworth J M 1889 The Railways of England London John Murray page needed Barrie D S M 1957 The Dundalk Newry amp Greenore Railway and the Holyhead Greenore Steamship Service Usk UK The Oakwood Press Map of LNWR London and North Western Railway Society Retrieved 24 February 2013 London and North Western Railway Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer British Newspaper Archive 21 February 1914 Retrieved 1 August 2016 via British Newspaper Archive Reed M C 1996 The London amp North Western Railway Penryn Atlantic Transport Publishers pp 223 4 ISBN 0 906899 66 4 Marshall John 1970 The Lancashire amp Yorkshire Railway Vol 2 Newton Abbot David amp Charles p 256 ISBN 0 7153 4906 6 Historic England War Memorial 1342044 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 9 February 2016 Simpson Bill 1989 The Aylesbury Railway The First Branch Line Cheddington Aylesbury Opened 1839 Oxford Oxford Publishing Company ISBN 9780860934387 Banbury To Verney Junction Lnwr permanent dead link Disused rlys fotopic net Retrieved 29 December 2010 a b Hewison Christian H 1983 Locomotive Boiler Explosions Newton Abbot David amp Charles pp 32 36 37 ISBN 0 7153 8305 1 a b c Hall Stanley 1990 The Railway Detectives London Ian Allan pp 38 40 ISBN 0 7110 1929 0 Trevena Arthur 1981 Trains in Trouble Vol 2 Redruth Atlantic Books p 7 ISBN 0 906899 03 6 Trevena Arthur 1981 Trains in Trouble Vol 2 Redruth Atlantic Books pp 15 16 ISBN 0 906899 03 6 Earnshaw Alan 1990 Trains in Trouble Vol 6 Penryn Atlantic Books p 8 ISBN 0 906899 37 0 a b Trevena Arthur 1980 Trains in Trouble Vol 1 Redruth Atlantic Books pp 16 24 ISBN 0 906899 01 X Hoole Ken 1982 Trains in Trouble Vol 3 Redruth Atlantic Books p 15 ISBN 0 906899 05 2 Earnshaw Alan 1991 Trains in Trouble Vol 7 Penryn Atlantic Books p 13 ISBN 0 906899 50 8 Earnshaw Alan 1993 Trains in Trouble Vol 8 Penryn Atlantic Books p 11 ISBN 0 906899 52 4 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Bradshaw s Railway Manual Shareholders Guide and Official Directory for 1905 London Henry Blacklock amp Co Ltd pp 201 202 Railway Reminiscences by George P Neele Late Superintendent of the Line of the London and North Western Railway Morquorquodale amp Co London 1904 Chapter VII Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1870 Unknown 1894 Obituary John Hick 1815 1894 Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 117 1894 379 380 doi 10 1680 imotp 1894 19959 ISSN 1753 7843 Death of Mr William Baker Morning Post England 21 December 1878 Retrieved 20 February 2022 via British Newspaper Archive Death of a Railway Engineer Nuneaton Observer England 14 February 1902 Retrieved 20 February 2022 via British Newspaper Archive New Engineer to the London and North Western Railway Belfast News Letter Northern Ireland 8 March 1902 Retrieved 20 February 2022 via British Newspaper Archive London and North Western Railway Staff Changes Railway News England 9 October 1909 Retrieved 20 February 2022 via British Newspaper Archive a b c Marshall John 1978 A Biographical Dictionary of Railway Engineers David amp Charles p 175 ISBN 978 0 7153 7489 4 Samuel Carter Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography Retrieved 20 March 2018 Premier Line Archived 13 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine Northampton and Lamport Railway 26 January 2008 Retrieved 29 December 2010 Reed M C 1996 The London amp North Western Railway Penryn Atlantic Transport ISBN 978 0 906899 66 3Further reading EditMeasom George 1859 Official Illustrated Guide to the North Western Railway London W H Smith and Son Shaw George 1876 The official tourists picturesque guide to the London and North western Railway and other railways with which it is immediately in connection embracing information respecting tours in England Ireland and Scotland specially prepared for the use of American tourists London Boston Norton and Shaw Estes and Lauriat OCLC 4038942 OL 26199401M Steel Wilfred L 1914 The history of the London amp North Western Railway Railway and Travel Monthly Darroch G R S 1920 Deeds of a great railway a record of the enterprise and achievements of the London and North Western Railway Company during the Great War John Murray Head Francis Bond 1849 Stokers and pokers or The London and North Western Railway the electric telegraph and the Railway Clearing House John Murray 1861 edition Findlay George 1889 The Working and Management of an English Railway 2nd ed Smith Neil March 2021 The London amp North Western Railway Articles from the Railway Magazine Archives Pen amp Sword ISBN 978 1 5267 8137 6External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to London and North Western Railway J Hudson amp Co Beaufort whistle Railway L amp NWR Kings Whistle Made by J Hudson amp Co One of their Best Made models Whistle Museum image archived from the original on 9 February 2013 London and North Western Railway Society Registered Charity L amp NWR Society No 1110210 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title London and North Western Railway amp oldid 1111600395, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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