London, Midland and Scottish Railway

see also|London Midland for the new (2007) railway company

The London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS [It has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. However the London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally used in historical circles. The LMS occasionally also used the initials LM&SR. For consistency, Wikipedia uses the initials LMS.] ) was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 as part of the forced Grouping of more than 300 railway companies into just four. It was an unwieldy construction, claiming to be the world's largest joint stock organisation, the largest transport organisation, and the largest commercial undertaking in Europe (although it did not say on what basis), including the largest chain of hotels. In 1938, the LMS operated 6,870 route miles (11,056km) (excluding its lines in Northern Ireland), but it was not very profitable with a rate of return of 2.7%. Along with other British railway companies, the LMS was nationalised in 1948.

Constituents

The LMS was formed from:
*Caledonian Railway 1114.4 miles (1793km) route length
*Furness Railway 158 miles (254 km)
*Glasgow and South Western Railway 498.5 miles (802km)
*Highland Railway 506 miles (814km)
*London and North Western Railway (including Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, amalgamated 1 January 1922) 2667.5 miles (4292.9 km)
*Midland Railway 2170.75 miles (3493km)
*North Staffordshire Railway 220.75 miles (355km)

ubsidiary companies

There were also 24 subsidiary railways, leased or worked by these companies, and large number of joint railways, including the UK's largest, the Midland & Great Northern, and the Somerset and Dorset.

In Ireland there were three railways:
* "Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway" 26.5 miles (42km)
* Northern Counties Committee 265.25 miles (426km)
* "Joint Midland and Great Northern of Ireland Railway" 91 miles (146km), with interests in Ireland Most of the above operated in what became Northern Ireland

The total route mileage of the LMSR in 1923 was 7790 miles (12,537km).

For all railways see "List of constituents of the LMS".

Geography

The principal LMS trunk routes were the West Coast Main Line and the Midland Main Line, which linked London, the industrial Midlands and North-West of England, and Scotland.

The main business was freight between these centres. Particularly notable were the Toton–Brent coal trains, which took coal from the Nottinghamshire coalfield to London.

History

Early history

The early history of the LMS is dominated by infighting between its two largest constituents and previously rivals, the Midland and the North Western, each of which believed their company's way was the right – and only – way of doing business. Generally, the Midland prevailed, with the adoption of many Midland practices such as the livery of crimson lake for passenger locomotives and rolling stock. Perhaps most notable was the continuation of the Midland Railway's small-engine policy.

Electrification

* Suburban electrification of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway

The Stanier revolution

The arrival of the new chief mechanical engineer, William Stanier, who was head-hunted from the Great Western Railway by Josiah Stamp in 1933, heralded a change. Stanier introduced new ideas rather than continuing the company's internal conflict.

Nationalisation

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 the Scottish Region. British Railways transferred the lines in Northern Ireland to the Ulster Transport Authority in 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 125mph inter-city services.

Rolling stock

* Locomotives of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
* Coaches of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
* Wagons of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
* Named trains of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway - see discussion

Preservation

* see: Locomotives of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway

Canals

The LMS owned many canals, including the Montgomeryshire Canal, Ellesmere Canal and Chester Canal. Many were abandoned by Act of Parliament, instigated by LMS. [cite book |title=The Times newspaper: Notice of a Special General Meeting of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway | url = http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?toDate=1946-12-31&fromDate=1910-01-01&currentPageNumber=1&resultsPerPage=10&sortBy=default&offset=0&viewName=&addFilters=&removeFilters=&addCat=&queryKeywords=bolton+canal&sectionId=1040&currPgSmartSet=1&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1937-02-11-26&articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1937-02-11-26-008&xmlpath=&pubId=17&totalResults=1265&addRefineFilters=&removeRefineFilters=&addRefineCat=&next_Page=false&prev_Page=false&date_dd_From=1&date_mm_From=01&date_yyyy_From=1910&date_dd_to_range=31&date_mm_to_range=12&date_yyyy_to_range=1946&date_dd_from_precise=1&date_mm_from_precise=01&date_yyyy_from_precise=1910&isDateSearch=false&dateSearchType=range&refineQuerykeywordText= |date= February 11 1937 Retrieved on 2008-06-29 "(Requires login/subscription)"] Those not abandoned passed to the British Transport Commission, at nationalisation; and ownership subsequently transferred to the British Waterways Board.

People

*Presidents
**Lord Stamp
*Chief Mechanical Engineers of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
**George Hughes
**Henry Fowler
**Ernest Lemon
**Sir William Stanier
**Charles Fairburn
**Henry George Ivatt

References

* Gammell, C.J., (1980), "LMS Branch Lines, 1945 - 1965", Oxford Publishing Company, ISBN 0-86093-062-9
* Hendry, R.P. and Hendry, R.P., (1982), "An Historical Survey of selected LMS Stations, Layouts and Illustrations", Volume 1, Oxford Publishing Company, ISBN 0-86093-168-4
* Nock, O.S., (1982), "A History of the LMS. Vol. 1: The First Years, 1923-1930", George Allen & Unwin, ISBN 0-04-385087-1
* Nock, O.S., (1982), "A History of the LMS. Vol. 2: The Record Breaking 'Thirties, 1931-1939", George Allen & Unwin, ISBN 0-04-385093-6
* Welbourn, N., (1994), "Lost Lines: LMR", Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-2277-1
* Whitehouse, P. and Thomas, D.St J., (1995), "LMS 150: the London, Midland & Scottish Railway: a century and a half of progress", Greenwich Editions, ISBN 0-86288-071-8 [Recommended for general overview]

Footnote

External links

* [http://lms-society.org.uk/ The LMS Society]
* [http://www.freewebs.com/lmsforum/ The LMS Forum]
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lmsreg LMS discussion group on Yahoo!]
* [http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/ LMS images of tourist attractions along their routes] Use Advanced Search/Collections/LMS to view these images held by the National Monuments Record, the public archive of English Heritage