76-654: The London, Midland and Scottish Railway ( LMS ) was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act 1921 , which required the grouping of over 120 separate railways into four. The companies merged into the LMS included the London and North Western Railway , the Midland Railway , the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (which had previously merged with
152-571: A London passenger group, and separate single groupings for Scotland and Ireland. Geddes' proposals became the 1920 white paper , Outline of Proposals as to the Future Organisation of Transport Undertakings in Great Britain and their Relation to the State ( Cmd. 787). That suggested the formation of six or seven regional companies, and suggested worker participation on the board of directors of
228-758: A collision with railcar No. 17 in 1949. No. 11 Scrapped in 1967. No. 12 Withdrawn in 1940, dismantled for spare parts. No. 4 Meenglas Preserved at the Foyle Valley Railway Museum . No. 5 Drumboe Ran the last scheduled train of the CDRJC on 31 December 1959. Preserved at the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre . No. 6 Columbkille Preserved at the Foyle Valley Railway Museum. No. 8 Foyle Scrapped in 1955. No. 1 Alice No. 2 Blanche Preserved in
304-463: A competitive choice for residents of Southend , who could take LNER services from Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street or LMS services from Southend Central to Fenchurch Street. The LMS was formed from the following major companies: There were also some 24 subsidiary railways, leased or worked by the above companies, and a large number of joint railways, including the UK's largest Joint Railway,
380-568: A further 63 miles (101 km) of 3 ft ( 914 mm ) gauge line. The expansionist policies of many of the constituent companies which formed the LMS, particularly the Midland Railway and the London and North Western Railway , resulted in the LMS owning or operating a number of lines outside its core geographical area. For instance, in 1912, the Midland Railway had purchased the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway which operated between London Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness , with
456-609: A half hours. Most other major cities on the network were linked by trains with names which would become famous in railway circles including the Thames-Clyde Express between London St Pancras and Glasgow St Enoch , The Palatine between London St Pancras and Manchester Central , The Irish Mail from London Euston to Holyhead and the Pines Express conveying portions from Liverpool and Manchester to Bournemouth . Goods accounted for around 60% of LMS revenue, and
532-412: A half million tons, could claim to indirectly employ a further 26,500 coal miners. For nearly ten years after its formation, the LMS had been run using a similar organisational structure to one of its constituents, the Midland Railway . In practice this meant that the commercial managers found themselves subservient to the needs of the operating departments. This changed in 1932 when a major restructuring
608-601: A loop serving Tilbury . These lines were automatically included in the LMS Group, along with the rest of the Midland Railway system, which meant that the LMS had a considerable presence in a part of the country (south Essex) which could be said to form part of the natural territory of the LNER. The process of Grouping under the Railways Act did not address geographical anomalies of this kind, although this particular arrangement did provide
684-592: A much larger scale, with the Glasgow Empire Exhibition requiring 1,800 special trains, with a further 1,456 run in connection with the Blackpool Illuminations . The number of people moved was huge, with over 2.2 million holidaymakers arriving in Blackpool between the start of July and the end of September alone. Besides these mass-market events, the company also ran regular tourist excursions to
760-630: A number of commercial areas, the LMS was first and foremost a railway organisation. It operated in all four constituent countries of the United Kingdom, and in England its operations penetrated 32 of the 40 counties . The company operated around 7,000 route miles of railway line, servicing 2,944 goods depots and 2,588 passenger stations, using 291,490 freight vehicles, 20,276 passenger vehicles and 9,914 locomotives. The company directly employed 263,000 staff, and through its annual coal consumption of over six and
836-526: A number of non-rolling stock items required for the everyday running of the railway. Two facilities were located in Derby, one known as Derby Loco and one as Carriage and Wagon . The former was opened in the 1840s by the North Midland , Midland Counties and Birmingham & Derby railway companies to meet their joint requirements for locomotive, carriage and wagon construction and maintenance. The latter site
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#1732856102487912-508: A significant source of revenue and the LMS became a specialist in the movement of large numbers of people, with locomotives and rolling stock often kept in operation just to service such seasonal traffic. In one year, the LMS ran 43 special trains to take spectators to the Grand National at Aintree , and a further 55 for the Cup Final at Wembley . Longer running events demanded operations on
988-662: A small heritage railway along the Foyle on the original route of the Derry - Portadown railway line, which has since fallen into disrepair during the museum's period of closure. UFTM = Ulster Folk & Transport Museum; FVR = Foyle Valley Railway; BHR = Belturbet Heritage Railway; FTR = Fintown Railway; DRC = Donegal Railway Centre; IOMR = Isle of Man Railway; C&L = Cavan and Leitrim Railway Scrapped in 1909. Scrapped in 1910. Scrapped in 1931. Scrapped in 1931. Scrapped in 1931. No. 9 Scrapped in 1954. No. 10 Scrapped in 1952 after
1064-453: A tribunal. Part 2 dealt with powers and regulation of the railway companies by the Railway and Canal Commission , part 3 dealt with railway rates, charges and conditions of carriage with powers given to a Railway Rates Tribunal , and part 4 with employee wages and conditions. Parts 5 and 6 dealt with light railways and general clauses respectively, with the general clauses of part 6 including
1140-428: A turntable to make a return journey. As well, they could not be worked in multiple, so if two railcars were working back to back, both required a driver. The railcars were incapable of hauling most freight wagons, so steam traction continued to be used on freight and excursion trains. The railcars could haul specially constructed trailers, and some lightweight freight wagons, which were painted red to distinguish them from
1216-781: A variety of destinations, such as Oban in the Scottish highlands, Keswick in the English Lake District , and even the First World War battlefields in Belgium , by way of the Tilbury to Dunkerque ferry service and the Belgian railways . Such was the importance of such excursion traffic that a special department was established in 1929 and oversaw the expansion from 7,500 special trains in that year to nearly 22,000 in 1938. However important
1292-548: A veteran officer of the LNWR , while commercial activities were headed by Ashton Davies, formerly of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway . Davies created a commercial research section, increased the sales force and provided them with specialist training. The emphasis of the organisation switched from operators dictating what was reasonable to the commercial managers asking what was possible to maximise sales opportunities. Thirty five district managers were appointed to oversee sales through
1368-666: The Caledonian Railway , while Stoke works in Staffordshire were established in 1864 by the North Staffordshire Railway . Both were absorbed into the LMS with their parent companies, and while the former became the main workshops for the Northern Division of the LMS, the latter works were wound down, closing in 1930, all work being transferred to nearby Crewe. Smaller workshop facilities were also transferred to
1444-596: The First World War the railways were under state control, which continued until 1921. Complete nationalisation had been considered, and the Railways Act 1921 is sometimes seen as a precursor to that, but the concept was rejected, and nationalisation was subsequently carried out after the Second World War , under the Transport Act 1947 . The form of the act was developed by the Minister of Transport , Eric Geddes , who
1520-802: The Grand Junction Railway and by the time of grouping was the locomotive works for the LNWR. Wolverton works in Buckinghamshire had been established by the London and Birmingham Railway in the 1830s, and since 1862 (when all locomotive works had transferred to Crewe) had been the LNWR's carriage works. In 1922, one year prior to the formation of the LMS, the LNWR had absorbed the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway , including their works at Horwich in Lancashire, which had opened in 1886. St. Rollox railway works , north east of Glasgow, had been built in 1856 by
1596-607: The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) , jointly owned the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee lines. Being geographically the largest, and the most central of the four main post-grouping railway companies, the LMS shared numerous boundaries with both the LNER and GWR, although its overlap with the Southern Railway was limited due to the general lack of direct routes through London. The SR and
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#17328561024871672-648: The Great War of 1914–1918. The provisions of the act took effect from the start of 1923. The British railway system had been built up by more than a hundred railway companies, large and small, and often, particularly locally, in competition with each other. The parallel railways of the East Midlands, and the rivalry between the South Eastern Railway and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway at Hastings, were two examples of such local competition. During
1748-824: The Midland & Great Northern , and one of the most famous, the Somerset & Dorset . The LMS was the minority partner (with the LNER) in the Cheshire Lines Committee . In Ireland there were three railways: All of the above operated, at least partially, in Northern Ireland The total route mileage of the LMS in 1923 was 7,790 miles (12,537 km). The early history of the LMS was dominated by infighting between parties representing its constituent parts, many of whom had previously been commercial and territorial rivals. This
1824-704: The Scottish Region . British Railways transferred the lines in Northern Ireland to the Ulster Transport Authority in 1949. The London Midland & Scottish Railway Company continued to exist as a legal entity for nearly two years after Nationalisation, being formally wound up on 23 December 1949. The lines in Great Britain were rationalised through closure in the 1950s to 70s but the main routes survive and some have been developed for 125 mph inter-city services. Despite having widespread interests in
1900-753: The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR), a joint LMS/ SR line in south-western England. The London suburban railway companies, such as the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and the Metropolitan Railway , were also excluded. Later, the London Passenger Transport Act 1933 amalgamated them, along with London area bus and tram operations, into the London Passenger Transport Board (see List of transport undertakings transferred to
1976-538: The Swindon Works that had been introduced by George Jackson Churchward , such as tapered boilers, long travel valves, and large bearings. His locomotives were not only more powerful, and economical, but they also ended the company's internal conflict. The war-damaged LMS was nationalised in 1948 by the Transport Act 1947 , becoming part of British Railways . It formed the London Midland Region and part of
2052-665: The West Coast Main Line and the Midland Main Line by the former group, and the East Coast Main Line by the latter. The opening paragraph of the Railways Act 1921 states: Part 1 of the act dealt with the terms and procedure of the amalgamations of railway companies. The constituents and subsidiaries of the four groups were set out in the first schedule of the act. Companies that had not formed an amalgamation scheme by 1923 would be amalgamated under terms decided by
2128-566: The "flow-line" principle, similar to a modern assembly line , and the unit assemblies were taken to workstations, where the precision machining of the mass-produced parts ensured they all fitted accurately into position, building into a complete carriage as the unit moved along the flow line. The technique was already in use in Derby prior to grouping, and was adopted in Wolverton during 1925, with Newton Heath following two years later. By using this method,
2204-681: The Big Four companies to operate rail services in Northern Ireland , serving most major settlements in the region. On 1 July 1903, the Midland Railway took over the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway and operated it under the name of Midland Railway (Northern Counties Committee). On grouping, the network became part of the LMS, again operating under the name of the Northern Counties Committee , and consisted of 201 miles (323 km) of 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) gauge track with
2280-443: The LMS by other constituent companies, including at Barrow-in-Furness ( Furness Railway ), Bow ( North London Railway ), Kilmarnock ( Glasgow and South Western Railway ) and Inverness ( Highland Railway ). The table below shows all major works taken over by the LMS upon formation. The LMS inherited a wide variety of passenger rolling stock from its constituent companies, and appointed Robert Whyte Reid, an ex-Midland Railway man, as
2356-407: The LMS had inherited from the 35 merged companies, a system of 7,000 route miles and 19,000 track miles; accounting for 38.4% of the total mileage of the 'big four' grouped railways. It was the owner of 9,319 locomotives, 19,000 passenger-carrying vehicles, and 286,000 wagons. It operated more than 10,600 passenger trains and 15,000 goods trains a day, with a total staff of 231,000. In addition to this,
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2432-420: The LMS owned 543 miles of canal, 8,950 horses, 17,000 carts, 2,000 motor vehicles, 64 steamboats and 27 docks, and was the owner of 28 hotels. The LMS operated a number of lines jointly with the other main railway companies, a situation which arose when the former joint owners of a route were placed into different post-grouping companies. Most of these were situated at or near the boundaries between two or more of
2508-539: The LMS were mainly overlapping on the West London Line . Competition with the LNER was mainly in terms of the premium London to Scotland traffic, with the rival LMS (West Coast) and LNER (East Coast) routes competing to provide ever better standards of passenger comfort and faster journey times. The LNER also competed with the LMS for traffic between London, the East Midlands , South Yorkshire and Manchester , with
2584-779: The London Passenger Transport Board ). Other exempted railways were light railways authorised under the Light Railways Act 1896 , and similar lines, although some of those lines still chose to join the groups. The lines which remained independent were principally those under the influence of Colonel Stephens , who had been instrumental in securing the necessary exemption. County Donegal Railways Joint Committee The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow gauge railway system serving County Donegal , Ireland , from 1906 until 1960. The committee
2660-674: The London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922), several Scottish railway companies (including the Caledonian Railway ), and numerous other, smaller ventures. Besides being the world's largest transport organisation, the company was also the largest commercial enterprise in the British Empire and the United Kingdom's second largest employer, after the Post Office . In 1938, the LMS operated 6,870 miles (11,056 km) of railway (excluding its lines in Northern Ireland ), but its profitability
2736-575: The Midlands, the North West of England, Mid/North Wales and Scotland. The company also operated a separate network of lines in Northern Ireland. The principal routes were the West Coast Main Line and the Midland Main Line , which had been the main routes of the two largest constituent companies, the London and North Western Railway and the Midland Railway respectively. AT the time of its creation,
2812-638: The RCA proposed five British regional monopolies including the Scottish businesses. After consideration of the Railways Bill, it was decided that the Scottish companies, originally destined to be a separate group, would be included with the Midland/North Western and Eastern groups respectively, in order that the three main Anglo-Scottish trunk routes should each be owned by one company for their full length:
2888-491: The appointment of Sir Henry Fowler as Chief Mechanical Engineer, was the continuation of the Midland Railway's small-engine policy (see Locomotives of the Midland Railway ). The LMS also implemented a novel management structure, breaking with British railway tradition, and mirroring a contemporary management practice more common in the United States, appointing a President and Vice-Presidents. On 4 January 1926, Josiah Stamp
2964-472: The availability of locomotives and rolling stock , and trained staff to step into key roles; firemen trained as drivers and locomotive cleaners trained to replace firemen. Numerous special fares were introduced to encourage travel, develop niche markets and overcome competitors. The cheap day return ticket offered return travel at a price usually equivalent to the single fare, although in areas with rival bus services they were sometimes offered at less than
3040-478: The companies, but there were some notable examples which extended beyond this borderland zone. Together with the London and North Eastern Railway , the LMS ran the former Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway network. Exceeding 183 miles (295 km), this was the largest jointly operated network in Great Britain in terms of route mileage, and extended from Peterborough to the East Anglian coast. The M&GN
3116-582: The company adopted the "crimson lake" livery for coaching stock as had been used by the Midland and Glasgow & South Western Railways prior to grouping (with the North Staffordshire Railway using a very similar shade). The livery worked well, proving to be hard wearing and practical. Railways Act 1921 The Railways Act 1921 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 5 . c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act ,
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3192-548: The company's goods depots, passenger stations and key dock facilities. There was even sales representation in the Irish Free State , certain European countries and North America. A monthly newsletter was produced entitled Quota News , and trophies were awarded to the best performing districts and salesmen. To provide maximum capacity during times of peak demand, the operating department re-organised maintenance schedules to maximise
3268-687: The company. The white paper was opposed by the Railway Companies' Association (RCA) and by MPs representing railway companies' interests. The move to greater worker participation was strongly opposed by the RCA, but supported by the Labour Party . Worker-directors were not included in the final act, being replaced by agreed negotiating mechanisms. In 1921, the white paper, Memorandum on Railways Bill (Cmd. 1292), suggested four English regional groups and two Scottish groups. Scottish railway companies wanted to be incorporated into British groupings, and
3344-464: The design of their advertisement posters. In this time, fine art already had a distinguished association in Europe and North America with good taste, longevity and quality. Jeffrey wanted LMS’ commercial image to align with these qualities and therefore accepted Wilkinson's advice. For the first series of posters, Wilkinson personally invited 16 of his fellow alumni from the Royal Academy of London to take part. In letter correspondence, Wilkinson outlined
3420-404: The details of the LMS proposal to the artists. The artist fee for each participant was £100. The railway poster would measure 50 X 40 inches. In this area, the artist's design would be reproduced as a photolithographic print on double royal satin paper, filling 45 X 35 inches. The mass-produced posters were pasted inside railway stations in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. LMS decided
3496-431: The excursion traffic was, it was the ordinary scheduled services which had to be the focus of efforts to improve the fortunes of the LMS. A number of initiatives were introduced, with the aim of making train travel more attractive and encouraging business growth. Services were accelerated, and better quality rolling stock was introduced and from 24 September 1928 sleeping cars were provided for third class ticket holders for
3572-463: The first time. The effect of these improvements was significant, with receipts from passenger traffic increasing by £2.9 million (equivalent to £2,226,910,000 in 2023) between 1932 and 1938. A number of premium services were offered, culminating in 1937 with the launch of the Coronation Scot , which featured streamlined locomotives hauling a nine coach train of specially constructed stock between London Euston and Glasgow Central in six and
3648-411: The former Midland main line from St Pancras (LMS) and Great Central Main Line from Marylebone (LNER) both providing express, stopping and local services between these destinations. The London to Birmingham corridor was fiercely contested with the LMS running expresses over its West Coast Main Line via Rugby , and the Great Western running services via Banbury . The LMS was also the only one of
3724-513: The head of its Carriage department. Reid had already started to introduce more efficient carriage building practices at the Derby Carriage and Wagon Works of the Midland Railway prior to grouping and these same practices were soon introduced to the carriage and wagon works of the former LNWR at Wolverton and the L&YR at Newton Heath. Most railway carriages were constructed by fitting together component parts which had been roughly machined to larger dimensions than required, which were then cut to
3800-405: The heavier wagons, which were grey. A diesel locomotive named Phoenix (converted from a steam locomotive) was also used, but due to its noisy operation and slow speed (top speed of 27 mph or 43 km/h), it spent most of its career shunting, travelling 204,577 miles (329,235 km) during its working life. The Glenties branch closed in 1947, the Strabane-Derry line closed in 1954, and
3876-423: The initial jigs) such as doors, ventilators, windows and seats. The natural progression was to streamline the assembly process and the company introduced a method known as Progressive Construction. In this process the mass-produced parts were combined into "unit assemblies", each of which was a major sub-component of the finished carriage such as side panels, carriage ends or the roof. The workshops were organised on
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#17328561024873952-406: The remaining passenger services ended on 31 December 1959. Much of the railway was closed on that date. Goods trains ran between Strabane and Stranorlar until 6 February 1960. During the 1930s the Joint Committee began operating a fleet of buses. After the closure of the railway, it continued to operate as a road freight and bus company until 10 July 1971 when it was taken over by CIÉ . In 1961,
4028-429: The required size and joined together by skilled coachbuilders. Reid's new method involved the use of templates or " jigs " to mass-produce components to a set pattern and size. Once these had been checked any example of a specific part could be used interchangeably with any other of the same type. The technique was applied to any item which could be manufactured in large numbers (as there were significant costs in producing
4104-460: The requirement of the railway companies to provide the Minister of Transport with statistic and financial reports. The third reading of the act in the House of Commons took place on 9 August 1921, and was passed with a majority of 237 to 62. The House of Lords made various amendments, which were accepted by the Commons on 19 August, and royal assent was given. The state control of the railways which began under war conditions during World War I
4180-406: The senior appointments on the operating side were of former Midland men, such as James Anderson, so that Midland ideas and practices tended to prevail over those of other constituents. For example, the Midland's system of traffic control was imposed on a system-wide basis, along with the Midland livery of Crimson Lake for passenger locomotives and rolling stock. Particularly notable, especially after
4256-418: The single fare. Companies holding large freight accounts with the LMS received reduced price season tickets for nominated employees, while commercial travellers, anglers and conveyors of racing pigeons were all tempted with special offers. Passenger miles rose quite dramatically, from a low point of 6,500 million in 1932 to 8,500 million by 1937, while at the same time the number of coaches required
4332-454: The subject advertised, but choices of style and approach were left to the artist's discretion. LMS’ open design brief resulted in a collection of posters that reflected the large capacity of destinations and experiences available with the transport organisation. For the Irish Free State , Wilkinson designed a poster in 1927 encouraging the public to avail of the LMS ferry and connecting boat trains to Ireland. For this promotion, Wilkinson's design
4408-416: The successor companies. They included the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GN), a London, Midland and Scottish Railway / London and North Eastern Railway joint line in eastern England, the largest of the joint railways in terms of route mileage; the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC), LMS/LNER joint line in Lancashire and Cheshire , largest in terms of both passenger and freight traffic; and
4484-405: The time taken to construct a typical carriage fell from six weeks to six days and by 1931 Derby and Wolverton were able to handle the entire LMS carriage building workload, and production at Newton Heath ceased. Each of the constituent companies of the LMS had their own liveries for locomotives and rolling stock. The board of directors of the LMS was dominated by former Midland Railway officers, and
4560-438: The total mileage operated by the company to 124.5 miles (200.4 km). Only 91 miles (146 km) were directly owned by the Joint Committee, as the Strabane and Letterkenny Railway accounted for 19.25 miles (30.98 km), and 14.5 miles (23.3 km) were property of the Northern Counties Committee. Under the management of Henry Forbes, traffic superintendent from 1910 to 1943, the County Donegal Railways became pioneers in
4636-488: The two most modern diesel railcars were sold to the Isle of Man Railway . Part of the line, which runs alongside Lough Finn near Fintown , has been re-laid as a tourist railway. The Donegal Railway Heritage Centre has been established and contains historic details and artefacts of the CDRJC. St. Connell's Museum, in Glenties has an extensive display of items from the railway. The Foyle Valley Railway in Derry houses numerous CDRJC artefacts. It used to operate
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#17328561024874712-564: The use of diesel traction . The first diesel railcar was built in 1930 (the first diesel railcar anywhere in the British Isles ), although a petrol-engined railcar had been built in 1926 before standardisation on diesel traction in 1934. Eight articulated diesel railcars were constructed by Walker Brothers of Wigan between 1934 and 1951, by which time virtually all passenger services were operated by diesel railcar, being much cheaper to operate than conventional steam trains. The railcars could only be driven from one end and had to be turned on
4788-571: Was a former North Eastern Railway executive. Geddes favoured using amalgamations to create privately owned regional monopolies, and suggested increased worker participation from pre-war levels. Geddes viewed the pre-war competition as wasteful, but was opposed to nationalisation, on the grounds that it led to poor management, as well as a mutually corrupting influence between railway and political interests. In his 9 March 1920 Cabinet paper, "Future Transport Policy", he proposed five English groups (Southern, Western, North Western, Eastern and North Eastern),
4864-406: Was accompanied with four posters of Ireland by Belfast modernist painter, Paul Henry . The commercial success of Wilkinson and Jeffrey's collaboration manifested between 1924 and 1928, with public sale of 12,000 railway posters. Paul Henry's 1925 poster depicting the Gaeltacht region of Connemara in County Galway proved most commercially popular, with 1,500 sales. Charter and excursion trains were
4940-438: Was an act of Parliament enacted by the British government, and was intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grouping" them into four large companies, dubbed the " Big Four ". The intention was to reduce inefficient internal competition between railway companies, and retain some of the benefits which the country had derived from a government-controlled railway system during and after
5016-445: Was appointed First President of the Executive, the equivalent of a Chief executive in modern organisational structures. He added the role of chairman of the board of directors to his portfolio in January 1927, succeeding Sir Guy Granet . The arrival of the new chief mechanical engineer, William Stanier , who was brought in from the Great Western Railway by Josiah Stamp in 1932, heralded a change. Stanier introduced practices used at
5092-507: Was completed, replacing the traditional board of directors with an executive headed by a president, supported by vice-presidents each with responsibility for a specific area. Ernest Lemon , who had briefly held the office of Chief Mechanical Engineer pending the arrival of William Stanier became Vice-President (Railway traffic, operating and commercial), with separate chief operating and chief commercial managers of equal status reporting to him. Railway operations were directed by Charles Byrom,
5168-410: Was completely owned by the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee , although it was operated by the CDRJC. At its greatest extent, the County Donegal Railways Committee operated the largest narrow gauge railway system in the British Isles . The railway was affectionately known as the "Wee Donegal". The Joint Committee opened the Strabane and Letterkenny Railway on 1 January 1909, bringing
5244-576: Was even more varied than passenger services, catering for a range of goods from fresh perishables such as milk, fish and meat through to bulk minerals and small consignments sent point to point between individuals and companies. Particularly notable were the Toton – Brent coal trains, which took coal from the Nottinghamshire coalfield to London. The LMS owned and operated a number of railway works, all of which were inherited from constituent companies. Between them these sites constructed locomotives, coaching stock, multiple units and freight wagons, as well as
5320-778: Was generally disappointing, with a rate of return of only 2.7%. Under the Transport Act 1947 , along with the other members of the " Big Four " British railway companies ( Great Western Railway , London and North Eastern Railway and Southern Railway ), the LMS was nationalised on 1 January 1948, becoming part of the state-owned British Railways . The LMS was the largest of the Big Four railway companies serving routes in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Railways Act 1921 created four large railway companies which were in effect geographical monopolies, albeit with competition at their boundaries, and with some lines either reaching into competitor territory, or being jointly operated. The LMS operated services in and around London,
5396-444: Was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorised the joint purchase of the then Donegal Railway Company by the Great Northern Railway of Ireland and the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee . On 1 May 1906, the Joint Committee was set up. The lines inherited by the Joint Committee totalled 106 miles (171 km) and were: By 1912 the company owned the following assets: The Strabane to Derry line
5472-528: Was opened in the 1860s by the Midland Railway as part of a reorganisation of facilities in Derby and left the original site to concentrate on locomotive manufacture and repair. The Midland Railway also had works at Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, which had been inherited from the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway . The LNWR also contributed several works sites to the LMS. Crewe Works was opened in 1840 by
5548-472: Was particularly marked in the case of the Midland and the North Western , each of which believed its way was the right – and only – way of doing business. This rivalry was so severe, that stories of connecting trains at Birmingham New Street from the previous LNWR and MR parts of the system, being deliberately made to miss each other persisted even as late as the early 1950s, long after their demise. Many of
5624-464: Was reduced through improved maintenance and more efficient utilisation. In 1938 it opened a School of Transport in Derby to train its staff in best railway practice. The LMS's commercial success in the 1920s resulted in part from the contributions of English painter, Norman Wilkinson . In 1923, Wilkinson advised Superintendent of Advertising and Publicity of the LMS, T.C Jeffrey, to improve rail sales and other LMS services by incorporating fine art into
5700-554: Was to continue for a further two years under the Ministry of Transport Act 1919 . The act took effect on 1 January 1923. On that date most of the mergers took place, although some had taken place during the previous year. The February 1923 issue of The Railway Magazine dubbed the new companies as " The Big Four of the New Railway Era". A number of joint railways remained outside the Big Four, continuing to be operated jointly by
5776-514: Was wholly incorporated into the LNER in 1936. The LMS also operated a significant joint network with the Southern Railway, in the shape of the former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway . This network connected Bath and Bournemouth, and wound its way through territory nominally allocated to a third railway company, the Great Western . Through the former Midland Railway holdings, the LMS, together with
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