The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a major British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world.
Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connected four of the largest cities in England; London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, and, through cooperation with their Scottish partners, the Caledonian Railway also connected Scotland's largest cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Today this route is known as the West Coast Main Line. The LNWR's network also extended into Wales and Yorkshire.
In 1923, it became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) railway, and, in 1948, the London Midland Region of British Railways.
Contents
History
The company was formed on 16 July 1846 by the London and North Western Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cciv), which authorised 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. The company initially had a network of approximately 350 miles (560 km), 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 (equivalent to £16,480,000 in 2025). The station stood on Drummond Street. Further expansion resulted in two additional platforms in the 1870s with four more in the 1890s, bringing the total to 15.
The LNWR described itself as the Premier Line. This was justified, as it included the pioneering Liverpool and 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.
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. 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.
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.
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. 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.
Electrification
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. 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, including the lines running east to west across the Midlands (e.g. Peterborough to Northampton and Cambridge to Oxford). Others were developed as part of the Inter City network, such as the main lines from London to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Carlisle, which are collectively known in the modern era as the West Coast Main Line. These lines 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 homage to the LNWR.
Locomotives
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 tampering of the safety valves. One person was injured.
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.
On 6 September 1851 a train run for the Great Exhibition returning from Euston to Oxford derailed at Bicester and six passengers were killed.
On 6 March 1853, the boiler of a locomotive exploded at Longsight, Lancashire. Six people were killed and the engine shed was severely damaged.
On 27 August 1860 a passenger train collided with a goods train at Craven Arms and one passenger was killed.
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.
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.
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.
Ships
The LNWR operated 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
Superintendents of the Line
George Potter Neele 1862 - 1895
Sir Robert Turnbull MVO 1895 - 1914 (afterwards General Manager)
Lancelot W. Horne from 1914
Chief Civil Engineers
Robert Stephenson until 1859
William Baker 1859 – 1878
Francis Stevenson 1879 – 1902
Edward Baylies Thornhill 1902 – 1909
Ernest Frederic Crosbie Trench 1909 – 1923 (afterwards chief engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway)
Locomotive Superintendents and Chief Mechanical Engineers
Southern Division:
1846–1847 – Edward Bury
1847–1862 – James McConnell
North Eastern Division:
1846–1857 – John Ramsbottom
NE Division became part of N Division in 1857.
Northern Division:
1846–1857 – Francis Trevithick
1857–1862 – John Ramsbottom
Northern and Southern Divisions amalgamated from April 1862:
1862–1871 – John Ramsbottom
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
1830–1861 – Samuel Carter, with continuing role for subsidiary companies
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.
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.