115-829: The LMS Scientific Research Laboratory was set up following the formation of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. In 1929, the Company President, Lord Stamp read a paper Scientific Research in Transport to the Institute of Transport, and, in 1930 he founded the Advisory Committee on Scientific Research for Railways. The Scientific Research Laboratory was formed by the Vice-President and Director of Scientific Research, Sir Harold Hartley . Purpose-built accommodation
230-461: A " Whites only " recruitment policy for guards at Euston station agreed between the local union branch and station management was dropped after the case of Asquith Xavier , a migrant from Dominica , who had been refused promotion on those grounds, was raised in Parliament and taken up by the then Secretary of State for Transport, Barbara Castle . Passenger levels decreased steadily from 1962 to
345-521: A "network for development"; the fate of the rest of the network was not discussed in the report. The basis for calculating passenger fares changed in 1964. In future, fares on some routes—such as rural, holiday and commuter services—would be set at a higher level than on other routes; previously, fares had been calculated using a simple rate for the distance travelled, which at the time was 3 d per mile second class, and 4½d per mile first class (equivalent to £0.32 and £0.48 respectively, in 2023 ). In 1966,
460-479: A Corporate Identity Manual which established a coherent brand and design standard for the whole organisation, specifying Rail Blue and pearl grey as the standard colour scheme for all rolling stock; Rail Alphabet as the standard corporate typeface, designed by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert ; and introducing the now-iconic corporate Identity Symbol of the Double Arrow logo. Designed by Gerald Barney (also of
575-539: A change. Stanier introduced practices used at 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
690-411: A committee chaired by Sir David Serpell was published in 1983. The Serpell Report made no recommendations as such but did set out various options for the network, including, at their most extreme, a skeletal system of less than 2,000 route km (1,240 miles). The report was received with hostility within several circles, which included figures within the government, as well as amongst
805-465: 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,
920-672: 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
1035-608: A generic symbol on street signs in Great Britain denoting railway stations. The rail transport system in Great Britain developed during the 19th century. After the grouping of 1923 under the Railways Act 1921 , there were four large railway companies, each dominating its own geographic area: the Great Western Railway (GWR), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and
1150-437: A grander logo for the railways. BR's second corporate logo (1956–1965), designed in consultation with Charles Franklyn and inspired by the much more detailed BTC crest, depicted a rampant lion emerging from a heraldic crown and holding a spoked wheel, all enclosed in a roundel with the "British Railways" name displayed across a bar on either side. This emblem soon acquired the nickname of the "Ferret and Dartboard". A variant of
1265-615: 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
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#17328491221061380-414: 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
1495-414: A lack of standardisation. At the same time, containerised freight was being developed. The marshalling yard building programme was a failure, being based on a belief in the continued viability of wagon-load traffic in the face of increasingly effective road competition, and lacking effective forward planning or realistic assessments of future freight. A 2002 documentary broadcast on BBC Radio 4 blamed
1610-601: 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
1725-595: 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
1840-753: A new British Rail Research Division , reporting directly to the Board , under the Chief Civil Engineer's Department. This went on, in addition to its other work into all aspects of the railway, to design the experimental version of the Advanced Passenger Train (APT-E). The Scientific Research Laboratory was renamed Hartley House, and formed the Scientific Services department of the Research Division. Later, after British Rail privatisation and
1955-527: 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
2070-470: A platform of revising many of the cuts, Tom Fraser instead authorised the closure 1,071 mi of railway lines, following the recommendations from the Beeching Report even lines not considered closing. After he resigned in 1967, his replacement Barbara Castle continued the line and station closures but introduced the first Government rail subsidies for socially necessary but unprofitable railways in
2185-722: A private heritage railway. Other preserved lines, or heritage railways , have reopened lines previously closed by British Rail. These range from picturesque rural branch lines like the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway to sections of mainline such as the Great Central Railway . Many have links to the National Rail network, both at station interchanges, for example, the Severn Valley Railway between Kidderminster and Kidderminster Town , and physical rail connections like
2300-525: A programme of closures began almost immediately after nationalisation. However, the general financial position of BR became gradually poorer until an operating loss was recorded in 1955. The Executive itself had been abolished in 1953 by the Conservative government, and control of BR transferred to the parent Commission. Other changes to the British Transport Commission at the same time included
2415-510: 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
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#17328491221062530-729: A trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission , it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board . British Railways was formed on 1 January 1948 as a result of the Transport Act 1947 , which nationalised the Big Four British railway companies along with some other (but not all) smaller railways. Profitability of
2645-785: 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
2760-603: 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
2875-468: A working railway, in 1948 the line was principally a tourist attraction . British Rail operated the line using steam locomotives long after the withdrawal of standard-gauge steam. The line's three steam locomotives were the only ones to receive TOPS serial numbers and be painted in BR Rail Blue livery with the double arrow logo. The Vale of Rheidol Railway was privatised in 1989 and continues to operate as
2990-533: A year later when the BTC was abolished the name of the force was amended to the British Transport Police. This name and its role within policing on the rail network was continued post-1994. Despite its nationalisation in 1947 "as one of the 'commanding heights' of the economy", according to some sources British Rail was not profitable for most (if not all) of its history. Newspapers reported that as recently as
3105-467: The British Railways Board was created to manage the railways as a successor to the British Transport Commission. It was during the 1960s that perhaps the most substantial changes were made. Seeking to reduce rail subsidies , one-third of the network and over half of all stations were permanently closed under the Beeching cuts . Trunk routes were considered to be the most important, and so electrification of
3220-698: 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
3335-606: 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
3450-803: 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
3565-610: The Great Eastern Main Line from London to Norwich was completed between 1976 and 1986 and on the East Coast Main Line from London to Edinburgh between 1985 and 1990. Train manufacturer British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) produced the capable InterCity 125 and Sprinter sets, the introduction of which improved intercity and regional railways, respectively, as well as the unsuccessful Advanced Passenger Train (APT). Gradually, passengers replaced freight as
LMS Scientific Research Laboratory - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-608: 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
3795-675: The LNER . Work continued into the nationalised era, when a decision was made to concentrate various headquarters functions, particularly that of the Chief Mechanical and Electrical Engineer, in one national centre. This produced the Railway Technical Centre (RTC) on the opposite side of London Road, on a site which had formerly been part of the Way and Works sidings. Part of the RTC would be occupied by
3910-597: The London Midland Region and part of 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
4025-825: 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
4140-598: The Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway . The London Underground also became publicly owned, becoming the London Transport Executive of the British Transport Commission. The Bicester Military Railway was already run by the government. The electric Liverpool Overhead Railway was also excluded from nationalisation . The Railway Executive was conscious that some lines on the (then very dense) network were unprofitable and hard to justify socially, and
4255-503: The Railway Executive . The Executive attempted to introduce a modern Art Deco -style curved logo, which could also serve as the standard for station signage totems. BR eventually adopted the common branding of the BTC as its first corporate logo, a lion astride a spoked wheel, designed for the BTC by Cecil Thomas ; on the bar overlaid across the wheel, the BTC's name was replaced with the words "British Railways". This logo, nicknamed
4370-457: The Southern Railway (SR). During World War I , the railways were under state control, which continued until 1921. Complete nationalisation had been considered, and the Railways Act 1921 is sometimes considered as a precursor to that, but the concept was rejected. Nationalisation was subsequently carried out after World War II , under the Transport Act 1947 . This Act made provision for
4485-417: The Transport Act 1968 . Part of these provisions was the creation of a passenger transport executive or PTE within larger metropolitan areas. Prior to this, public transport was run by individual local authorities and private companies, with little co-ordination. The PTEs took over the responsibility (but not ownership) of managing local rail networks. The 1968 Act created five new bodies. These were: This
4600-544: The "Cycling Lion", was applied from 1948 to 1956 to the sides of locomotives, while the ‘hot dog’ design was adopted for smaller station name signs, known officially as ‘lamp tablets’ and coloured for the appropriate BR region, using Gill Sans lettering first adopted by the LNER from 1929. In 1956, the BTC was granted a heraldic achievement by the College of Arms and the Lord Lyon , and then BTC chairman Brian Robertson wanted
4715-569: 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,
LMS Scientific Research Laboratory - Misplaced Pages Continue
4830-401: The 1950s decisions for the "beleaguered" condition of the railway system at that time. During the late 1950s, railway finances continued to worsen; whilst passenger numbers grew after restoring many services reduced during the war, and in 1959 the government stepped in, limiting the amount the BTC could spend without ministerial authority. A White Paper proposing reorganisation was published in
4945-729: 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 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
5060-534: The 1955 programme (costing £1.2 billion), but did so largely for political reasons. This included the withdrawal of steam traction and its replacement by diesel (and some electric) locomotives. Not all modernisations would be effective at reducing costs. The dieselisation programme gave contracts primarily to British suppliers, who had limited experience of diesel locomotive manufacture, and rushed commissioning based on an expectation of rapid electrification; this resulted in numbers of locomotives with poor designs and
5175-588: The 1990s, public rail subsidy was counted as profit; as early as 1961, British Railways were losing £300,000 a day. Although the company was considered the sole public-transport option in many rural areas, the Beeching cuts made buses the only public transport available in some rural areas. Despite increases in traffic congestion and road fuel prices beginning to rise in the 1990s, British Rail remained unprofitable. Following sectorisation, InterCity became profitable. InterCity became one of Britain's top 150 companies, providing city centre to city centre travel across
5290-424: The 7,000 stations would close. Beeching, who is thought to have been the author of most of the report, set out some dire figures. One third of the network was carrying just 1% of the traffic. Of the 18,000 passenger coaches, 6,000 were said to be used only 18 times a year or less. Although maintaining them cost between £3 million and £4 million a year, they earned only about £0.5 million. Most of
5405-756: The Beeching cuts a generation earlier but which had seen passenger services withdrawn. This included the bulk of the Chester and Connah's Quay Railway in 1992, the Brierley Hill to Walsall section of the South Staffordshire line in 1993, while the Birmingham to Wolverhampton section of the Great Western Railway was closed in three phases between 1972 and 1992. Following the election of Labour in 1964, on
5520-511: 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
5635-409: The DRU), this arrow device was formed of two interlocked arrows across two parallel lines, symbolising a double-track railway. It was likened to a bolt of lightning or barbed wire , and also acquired a nickname: "the arrow of indecision". A mirror image of the double arrow was used on the port side of BR-owned Sealink ferry funnels. The new BR corporate identity and double arrow were displayed at
5750-412: The Design Centre in London in early 1965, and the brand name of the organisation was shortened to "British Rail". It is now employed as a generic symbol on street signs in Great Britain denoting railway stations, and is still printed on railway tickets as part of the Rail Delivery Group 's jointly managed National Rail brand. The uniformity of BR branding continued until the process of sectorisation
5865-495: The Double Arrow symbol, which has survived to this day and serves as a generic trademark to denote railway services across Great Britain. The BR Corporate Identity Manual is noted as a piece of British design history and there are plans for it to be re-published. With its creation in 1948, British Railways was divided into regions which were initially based on the areas the former Big Four operated in; later, several lines were transferred between regions. Notably, these included
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#17328491221065980-444: 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
6095-407: 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,
6210-423: 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
6325-426: 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
6440-470: The London area; Provincial (renamed Regional Railways in 1989) responsible for all other passenger services. In the metropolitan counties local services were managed by the Passenger Transport Executives . Provincial was the most subsidised (per passenger km) of the three sectors; upon formation, its costs were four times its revenue . During the 1980s British Rail ran the Rail Riders membership club aimed at 5- to 15-year-olds. Because British Railways
6555-413: 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,
6670-418: The UK using one of the machines was at Upminster station on 21 March 2007. Before the rail network was privatised, British Rail introduced several discount cards through the APTIS that were available to certain demographics, issued either by National or Regional schemes: The narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway in Ceredigion, Wales, became part of British Railways at nationalisation. Although built as
6785-439: 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
6900-473: 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
7015-483: The closures were carried out between 1963 and 1970 (including some which were not listed in the report), while other suggested closures were not carried out. The closures were heavily criticised at the time. A small number of stations and lines closed under the Beeching programme have been reopened, with further reopenings proposed. A second Beeching report, "The Development of the Major Trunk Routes", followed in 1965. This did not recommend closures as such but outlined
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#17328491221067130-425: 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
7245-497: 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. British Railways British Railways ( BR ), which from 1965 traded as British Rail , was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally
7360-441: 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
7475-466: 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
7590-406: 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
7705-450: The early 1970s. Tickets issued from British Rail's APTIS system had a considerable amount of information presented in a consistent, standard format. The design for all tickets was created by Colin Goodall . This format has formed the basis for all subsequent ticket issuing systems introduced on the railway network – ticket-office-based, self-service and conductor-operated machines alike. APTIS survived in widespread use for twenty years but, in
7820-442: The early 1990s): In addition, the non-passenger sectors were: The maintenance and remaining engineering works were split off into a new company, British Rail Maintenance Limited . The new sectors were further subdivided into divisions. This ended the BR blue period as new liveries were adopted gradually. Infrastructure remained the responsibility of the regions until the "Organisation for Quality" initiative in 1991 when this too
7935-432: The early 2000s, was largely replaced by more modern PC-based ticketing systems. Some APTIS machines in the Greater London area were modified as APTIS-ANT (with no obvious difference to the ticket issued) to make them Oyster card compatible. The last APTIS machines were removed at the end of 2006 as there was no option to upgrade them to accept Chip and PIN credit card payments. The last APTIS-ANT ticket to be issued in
8050-431: 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
8165-402: The figures in both this and the original plan were produced for political reasons and not based on detailed analysis. The aim was to increase speed, reliability, safety, and line capacity through a series of measures that would make services more attractive to passengers and freight operators, thus recovering traffic lost to the roads. Important areas included: The government appeared to endorse
8280-522: 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
8395-466: The following year, and a new structure was brought into effect by the Transport Act 1962. This abolished the commission and replaced it by several separate boards. These included a British Railways Board, which took over on 1 January 1963. Following semi-secret discussions on railway finances by the government-appointed Stedeford Committee in 1961, one of its members, Dr Richard Beeching , was offered
8510-709: The former Great Central lines from the Eastern Region to the London Midland Region, and the West of England Main Line from the Southern Region to Western Region The North Eastern Region was merged with the Eastern Region in 1967. In 1982, the regions were abolished as the service provider (but retained for administration) and replaced by "business sectors", a process known as sectorisation . The passenger sectors were (by
8625-467: 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
8740-616: The four old railway police forces, the London Transport Police, canal police and several minor dock forces. In 1957 the Maxwell-Johnson enquiry found that policing requirements for the railway could not be met by civil forces and that it was essential that a specialist police force be retained. On 1 January 1962, the British Transport Commission Police ceased to cover British Waterways property and exactly
8855-568: The go-ahead, including the East Coast Main Line , the spur from Doncaster to Leeds , and the lines in East Anglia out of London Liverpool Street to Norwich and King's Lynn . The list with approximate completion dates includes: In the Southwest, the South West Main Line from Bournemouth to Weymouth was electrified along with other infill 750 V DC third rail electrification in
8970-620: 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
9085-425: 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
9200-515: The late 1970s, and reached a low in 1982. Network improvements included completing electrification of the Great Eastern Main Line from London to Norwich between 1976 and 1986 and the East Coast Main Line from London to Edinburgh between 1985 and 1990. A mainline route closure during this period of relative network stability was the 1,500 V DC -electrified Woodhead line between Manchester and Sheffield : passenger service ceased in 1970 and goods in 1981. A further British Rail report from
9315-474: The logo with the name in a circle was also used on locomotives. The zeal for modernisation in the Beeching era drove the next rebranding exercise, and BR management wished to divest the organisation of anachronistic, heraldic motifs and develop a corporate identity to rival that of London Transport . BR's design panel set up a working party led by Milner Gray of the Design Research Unit . They drew up
9430-533: The main source of business. From 1982, under sectorisation , the regions were gradually replaced by "business sectors", which were originally responsible for marketing and other commercial matters when they were first created but had taken over entirely by 1990. During the 1980s and 1990s, the British Government directed the privatisation of British Rail . Following completion of the privatisation process in 1997, responsibility for track, signalling and stations
9545-402: The nation from Aberdeen and Inverness in the north to Poole and Penzance in the south. In 1979, the incoming Conservative Government led by Margaret Thatcher was viewed as anti-railway, and did not want to commit public money to the railways. However, British Rail was allowed to spend its own money with government approval. This led to a number of electrification projects being given
9660-577: The nationalisation of the network as part of a policy of nationalising public services by Clement Attlee 's Labour Government. British Railways came into existence as the business name of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission (BTC) on 1 January 1948 when it took over the assets of the Big Four. There were also joint railways between the Big Four and a few light railways to consider (see list of constituents of British Railways ). Excluded from nationalisation were industrial lines like
9775-675: The post of chairing the BTC while it lasted and then became the first Chairman of the British Railways Board. A major traffic census in April 1961, which lasted one week, was used in the compilation of a report on the future of the network. This report – The Reshaping of British Railways – was published by the BRB in March 1963. The proposals, which became known as the Beeching cuts , were dramatic. A third of all passenger services and more than 4,000 of
9890-419: The public. The reaction was so strong that Margaret Thatcher , Prime Minister at that time, stated that decisions on the report would not immediately be taken. The Serpell report was quietly shelved, although the British Government was periodically accused by its opponents of implementing the report via stealth for some years thereafter. The 1980s and 1990s saw the closure of some railways which had survived
10005-443: The railways became a pressing concern during the 1950s, leading to multiple efforts to bolster performance, including some line closures. The 1955 Modernisation Plan formally directed a process of dieselisation and electrification to take place; accordingly, steam locomotives had been entirely replaced by diesel and electric traction (except for the narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway tourist line) by 1968. On 1 January 1963,
10120-429: 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
10235-403: The return of road haulage to the private sector; however, BR retained its own (smaller) in-house road haulage service. The report, latterly known as the "Modernisation Plan", was published in January 1955. It was intended to bring the railway system into the 20th century. A government White Paper produced in 1956 stated that modernisation would help eliminate BR's financial deficit by 1962, but
10350-432: The rolling stock it had inherited from its predecessor railway companies. Initially, an express blue (followed by GWR -style Brunswick green in 1952) was used on passenger locomotives, and LNWR -style lined black for mixed-traffic locomotives, but later green was more widely adopted. Development of a corporate identity for the organisation was hampered by the competing ambitions of the British Transport Commission and
10465-460: The sale of the Research Division to AEA Technology , the Scientific Services department was separately privatised to form the company Scientifics Ltd. Since 2012, the laboratory buildings have been occupied by the Zaytouna School, an Islamic faith primary school. London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway ( LMS ) was a British railway company. It
10580-456: 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
10695-419: 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
10810-516: The south. In 1988, the line to Aberdare was reopened. A British Rail advertisement ("Britain's Railway", directed by Hugh Hudson ) featured some of the best-known railway structures in Britain, including the Forth Rail Bridge , Royal Albert Bridge , Glenfinnan Viaduct and London Paddington station . London Liverpool Street station was rebuilt, opened by Queen Elizabeth II , and a new station
10925-514: 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
11040-407: 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
11155-596: The trunk routes of the West Coast Main Line , East Coast Main Line , Great Western Main Line , Great Eastern Main Line and Midland Main Line , and other lines. Policing on (and within) the network was carried out British Transport Police (BTP). In 1947 the Transport Act created the British Transport Commission (BTC), which unified the railway system. On 1 January 1949, the British Transport Commission Police (BTCP) were created, formed from
11270-516: 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
11385-454: 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
11500-510: 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,
11615-565: Was constructed at Stansted Airport in 1991. The following year, the Maesteg line was reopened. In 1988, the Windsor Link Line, Manchester was constructed and has proven to be an important piece of infrastructure. Before the introduction of APTIS (Accountancy and Passenger Ticket Issuing System), British Rail used the Edmondson railway ticket , first introduced in the 1840s and phased out in
11730-683: 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
11845-465: 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 the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922), several Scottish railway companies (including
11960-465: Was formed, located in the locomotive works, using 1/24 scale models. It was involved in the design work for Stanier 's Coronation locomotives, and went on to assess smoke deflectors, carriage ventilation and the effect of passing trains on structures and passengers in stations. This passed to the Derby College of Technology in 1960. The Rugby Testing Station was opened in 1948 as a joint venture with
12075-779: 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,
12190-518: Was introduced in the 1980s. Certain BR operations such as Inter-City , Network SouthEast , Regional Railways or Rail Express Systems began to adopt their own identities, introducing logos and colour schemes which were essentially variants of the British Rail brand. Eventually, as sectorisation developed into a prelude to privatisation, the unified British Rail brand disappeared, with the notable exception of
12305-477: 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
12420-473: 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
12535-502: Was provided on the west side of London Road, Derby which opened in December 1935. The various paint and varnish laboratories were amalgamated and relocated there, joining the textile research from Calvert Street and the metallurgy and general engineering research in the locomotive works. In addition the laboratory liaised with various university departments, its remit covering all areas of railway operation. In 1936 an aerodynamics laboratory
12650-467: 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
12765-422: Was such a large operation, running not just railways but also ferries, steamships and hotels, it has been considered difficult to analyse the effects of nationalisation. Prices rose quickly in this period, rising 108% in real terms from 1979 to 1994, as prices rose by 262% but RPI only increased by 154% in the same time. Following nationalisation in 1948, British Railways began to adapt the corporate liveries on
12880-539: Was the first real subdivision of BR since its inception in 1949, and likely saved many lines earmarked for closure, notably the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway , which now forms part of the Merseyrail network. Upon sectorisation in 1982, three passenger sectors were created: InterCity , operating principal express services; London & South East (renamed Network SouthEast in 1986) operating commuter services in
12995-452: Was transferred to Railtrack (later brought under public control as Network Rail ) while services were run by a variety of train operating companies . At the end of the process, any remaining obligations of British Rail were transferred to BRB (Residuary) Limited . The British Rail Double Arrow logo remains in place, now owned by the Secretary of State for Transport , and is now employed as
13110-451: Was transferred to the sectors. The Anglia Region was created in late 1987, its first General Manager being John Edmonds, who began his appointment on 19 October 1987. Full separation from the Eastern Region – apart from engineering design needs – occurred on 29 April 1988. It handled the services from Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street , its western boundary being Hertford East , Meldreth and Whittlesea . The former BR network, with
13225-472: 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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