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During the 1930s, railways in the north of Britain were owned by two companies – London Midland and Scotland (LMS) running the west coast line and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) running the east coast line. Both companies claimed to have the finest railway in the world. An intense rivalry developed and speed became the means by which they battled to prove their superiority.
LMS's flagship express train was the Royal Scot, operating from Euston to Glasgow. Its archrival was LNER's Flying Scotsman, operating from Kings Cross to Edinburgh. LMS and LNER had an agreement not to compete on speed for the Scottish run. Both trains took a leisurely 8 hours 15 minutes to cover the 400 miles.
But by the early 1930s, road travel was beginning to threaten the railways' monopoly on long distance journeys. LMS and LNER realised they had to invest in speed in order to stay ahead, and in 1932, an epic dual began as they abandoned their previous agreement. The dual would be led by two figures – Sir Nigel Gresley, chief mechanical engineer for LNER and his LMS counterpart, Sir William Stanier.
Up to this point, locomotives had changed little in 100 years; they had simply become bigger, heavier and more powerful. But this was a time when streamlining was applied to everything, from architecture to transport. Gresley took the traditional locomotive and clad it in a streamlined casing. His new 'A4 Pacific' trains were fast, and, they looked fast. On 29 September 1935, one of the trains, Silver Link, made its inaugural journey, from Kings Cross station. It reached 112 mph, breaking all previous records.
LMS needed to retaliate, but their route was hampered by twists, turns and sharp inclines. Stanier's solution was to build a new type of huge streamlined train, also based on the A4 Pacific desgn – the 'Princess Coronation'. On 29 June 1937, the Coronation Scot, one of the Princess Coronations, made its inaugural run, reaching 114 mph. LMS had finally entered the competition.
LNER was not to be outdone though and on 3 July 1938, A4 Pacific Mallard was taken on high-speed brake tests. Driver Joe Duddington took to her to 126 mph. It was steam's finest hour.
The streamliners were a huge hit with the public who could now travel at speed and in style. But the Second World War halted the modernization of the railways. Luxury travel was abandoned and the special coaches were put into storage. Locomotives were stripped of their streamlined casings to ease maintenance.
After the war, the process of nationalization and the advent of diesel and electric technology gradually put an end to the age of steam. The streamliners had had their day and Mallard's record would never be broken.
Cutty Sark and the Great Clippers
Graphics version (includes layout and images)