Britain's trains and railways: A beginner's guide
The golden age
The period between the wars saw huge developments, with new luxury trains introduced and speed records broken.
In 1923, 123 private railways merged into four new groups, known collectively as the 'Big Four':
- The London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS).
- The London & North Eastern Railway (LNER).
- The Great Western Railway (GWR) – the only one already existing.
- The Southern Railway (SR)
Intense rivalry between the LMS and LNER over the routes from London to Scotland led to rapid advances in locomotive and train design. The key designers were Sir William Stanier for the LMS and Sir Nigel Gresley for the LNER.
London & North Western Railway Society
www.lnwrs.org.uk
Just before World War I, the LNWR employed 111,000 people
and was the largest railway in Britain pre-grouping, with more than 1,500
miles of track. For decades, it was the largest joint stock company in
the world, but was later absorbed into the LMS. Pete Waterman recently
revived the name for his Crewe-based maintenance company.
Mike's Railway History: The way it was in 1935
mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/home.html
Lots of fascinating features on pre-1935 railways: from Brunel's Atmospheric Railway in Devon to the Railplane at Milngavie, Dumbarton.
Speed Machines: Record-breaking steam trains
www.channel4.com/science/microsites/S/
speedmachines/steamtrains_timeline.html
Rivalry between the LMS and LNER led to streamlined high-speed
trains: the LNER Silver Jubilee, between London King's Cross and
Newcastle, in celebration of George V's 25th year of reign in 1935, versus
the LMS Coronation Scot marking the coronation of George VI in
1937.
Streamlined Locomotives of the World
www.geocities.com/fredpipes/trains/index.html
Images and information on the streamlined trains of the LMS and LNER.
Mallard
www.o-keating.com/hsr/mallard.htm
Gresley's A4 Mallard achieved 126mph on 3 July 1938
- the world record for steam.
The Great Western Archive
www.greatwestern.org.uk/
Lots of information on Brunel's railway.
National Railway Museum, York
www.nrm.org.uk/home/menu.asp
Home of Mallard and the Flying Scotsman.
