London, Midland and Scottish Railway

The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) was a British railway company formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which grouped more than 120 separate railways into four large companies. The LMS was created from major railways including the London and North Western Railway, Midland Railway, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway – which had already merged with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922 – several Scottish railways including the Caledonian Railway, and many smaller companies.

The company that emerged was vast and complex, with interests extending beyond railway operations. It became the world’s largest transport organisation, the largest commercial enterprise in the British Empire, and the second largest employer in the United Kingdom after the Post Office. The LMS also described itself as the world’s largest joint stock organisation.

By 1938, the LMS operated 6,870 miles (11,056 km) of railway, excluding its Northern Ireland lines, though profitability remained relatively weak, with a return of only 2.7%. Under the Transport Act 1947, the LMS was nationalised on 1 January 1948 along with the other “Big Four” companies – GWR, LNER, and SR – and became part of the state-owned British Railways.

The LMS was the largest of the Big Four and served routes across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Overview

The Railways Act 1921 established four large railway companies that were effectively regional monopolies, though competition still existed at border areas and on jointly operated routes.

The LMS ran services in and around London, the Midlands, north-west England, mid and north Wales, and Scotland. It also operated a separate railway network in Northern Ireland.

Its two principal trunk routes were the West Coast Main Line and the Midland Main Line, inherited from its two largest constituent companies: the London and North Western Railway and the Midland Railway.

Joint lines

The LMS operated several lines jointly with other major railway companies, largely because some jointly owned routes had passed into different companies after grouping. Most of these lay near company boundaries, though some extended much farther.

With the London and North Eastern Railway, the LMS jointly operated the former Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway network. At over 183 miles (295 km), it was the largest jointly operated railway network in Great Britain by route mileage and stretched from Peterborough to the East Anglian coast. The M&GN was fully absorbed into the LNER in 1936.

The LMS also jointly worked the former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway with the Southern Railway. This route linked Bath and Bournemouth and ran through territory formally assigned to the Great Western.

Through former Midland Railway interests, the LMS and the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) also jointly owned the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee lines.

Areas of competition

Because it was geographically the largest and most centrally placed of the four main post-grouping railway companies, the LMS shared many boundaries with both the LNER and GWR. Its overlap with the Southern Railway was much smaller, largely because of the limited number of direct routes through London. The LMS and SR mainly overlapped on the West London Line.

Competition with the LNER focused especially on premium London-Scotland traffic, with the LMS West Coast route and the LNER East Coast route competing to offer faster journeys and better passenger comfort. The LNER also competed with the LMS for traffic between London, the East Midlands, South Yorkshire, and Manchester. On this corridor, the former Midland main line from St Pancras and the Great Central Main Line from Marylebone both carried express, stopping, and local services.

The London-Birmingham route was another major battleground, with the LMS using its West Coast Main Line via Rugby and the Great Western operating via Banbury.

Northern Ireland

The LMS was the only one of the Big Four to operate rail services in Northern Ireland, serving most major settlements there.

On 1 July 1903, the Midland Railway took over the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway and ran it under the name Midland Railway (Northern Counties Committee). After grouping, this network became part of the LMS and continued to operate as the Northern Counties Committee. It comprised 201 miles (323 km) of 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge track and a further 63 miles (101 km) of 3 ft (914 mm) gauge line.

Apparent geographical anomalies

The expansionist policies of several constituent companies – especially the Midland Railway and the London and North Western Railway – meant that the LMS inherited and operated lines beyond its natural core territory.

One clear example came from the Midland Railway’s 1912 purchase of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway, which ran between London Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness, with a loop through Tilbury. When the Midland became part of the LMS, these lines did too, giving the LMS a notable presence in south Essex – an area more naturally associated with the LNER. This arrangement nevertheless gave passengers in Southend a choice between LNER services from Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street and LMS services from Southend Central to Fenchurch Street.

History

Formation

The LMS was formed from the following major companies:

• Caledonian Railway – 1,114.4 miles (1,793 km)
• Furness Railway – 158 miles (254 km)
• Glasgow and South Western Railway – 498.5 miles (802 km)
• Highland Railway – 506 miles (814 km)
• London and North Western Railway – including the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, amalgamated on 1 January 1922 – 2,667.5 miles (4,292.9 km)
• Midland Railway – 2,170.75 miles (3,493 km)
• North Staffordshire Railway – 220.75 miles (355 km)

It also included around 24 subsidiary railways that were leased or worked by those companies, along with many joint railways, including the UK’s largest joint railway, the Midland & Great Northern, and one of the best known, the Somerset & Dorset. The LMS was the minority partner, with the LNER, in the Cheshire Lines Committee.

In Ireland, three railways were involved:

• Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway – 26.5 miles (42 km)
• Northern Counties Committee – 265.25 miles (426 km)
• Joint Midland and Great Northern of Ireland Railway – 91 miles (146 km), with interests in Ireland

Most of these operated in what became Northern Ireland.

The LMS’s total route mileage in 1923 was 7,790 miles (12,537 km).

Early history

The early years of the LMS were marked by internal conflict between factions representing its former constituent companies, many of which had previously been rivals. This was especially true of the Midland and the North Western, both of which believed their own methods were superior. The rivalry was so strong that stories persisted – even into the early 1950s – of connecting trains at Birmingham New Street being deliberately scheduled to miss each other between former LNWR and MR routes.

Many senior operating appointments went to former Midland men, including James Anderson, so Midland methods tended to dominate. The Midland system of traffic control was extended across the company, and the Midland livery of Crimson Lake was adopted for passenger locomotives and rolling stock. After the appointment of Sir Henry Fowler as Chief Mechanical Engineer, the Midland Railway’s small-engine policy also continued.

The LMS also introduced an unusual management structure for a British railway company, closer to American business practice, with a President and Vice-Presidents. On 4 January 1926, Josiah Stamp became First President of the Executive, effectively the company’s chief executive. In January 1927, he also became chairman of the board, succeeding Sir Guy Granet.

The Stanier revolution

A major turning point came in 1932 with the arrival of the new Chief Mechanical Engineer, William Stanier, brought from the Great Western Railway by Josiah Stamp.

Stanier introduced engineering methods used at Swindon Works, many of them originally developed by George Jackson Churchward, including tapered boilers, long-travel valves, and large bearings. His locomotives were more powerful and more economical, and his appointment helped end much of the company’s long-running internal conflict.

Nationalisation

The war-damaged LMS was nationalised in 1948 under the Transport Act 1947, becoming part of British Railways. Its former system became the core of the London Midland Region and part of the Scottish Region.

In 1949, British Railways transferred the lines in Northern Ireland to the Ulster Transport Authority. The London Midland & Scottish Railway Company continued as a legal entity for nearly two years after nationalisation and was formally wound up on 23 December 1949.

In Great Britain, many former LMS lines were later closed during the rationalisation of the 1950s to 1970s, though the principal routes survived and some were eventually developed for 125 mph inter-city operation.

Railway operations

Although it had commercial interests in many areas, the LMS remained above all a railway business. It operated in all four constituent countries of the United Kingdom and, in England alone, its network reached 32 of the 40 counties.

The company ran roughly 7,000 route miles of railway, serving 2,944 goods depots and 2,588 passenger stations. It used 291,490 freight vehicles, 20,276 passenger vehicles, and 9,914 locomotives. The LMS directly employed 263,000 staff, and through its annual coal consumption of more than six and a half million tons, it claimed to support the employment of a further 26,500 coal miners indirectly.

Commercial organisation

For almost a decade after its creation, the LMS followed an organisational model similar to that of the Midland Railway, where commercial managers were largely subordinate to operating departments. This changed in 1932 with a major restructuring that replaced the traditional board model with an executive led by a president and supported by vice-presidents responsible for specific areas.

Ernest Lemon, who had briefly served as Chief Mechanical Engineer before the arrival of William Stanier, became Vice-President for railway traffic, operating, and commercial matters. Separate chief operating and chief commercial managers of equal rank reported to him. Railway operations were directed by Charles Byrom, a veteran of the LNWR, while commercial work was led by Ashton Davies, formerly of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.

Davies established a commercial research section, expanded the sales force, and introduced specialist training. The emphasis shifted from operators deciding what was reasonable to commercial managers identifying what was possible in order to maximise sales. Thirty-five district managers were appointed to oversee sales through goods depots, passenger stations, and key dock facilities. The LMS even maintained sales representation in the Irish Free State, parts of Europe, and North America.

A monthly newsletter titled Quota News was produced, and trophies were awarded to the best-performing districts and sales staff. To increase capacity in peak periods, the operating department reorganised maintenance schedules to maximise locomotive and rolling stock availability, and trained employees to cover multiple roles, including firemen training as drivers and locomotive cleaners replacing firemen.

The LMS also introduced special fares to attract passengers, develop niche markets, and compete more effectively. Cheap day return tickets often cost little more than a single fare, and in places with competing bus services could cost even less. Large freight customers received discounted season tickets for nominated employees, while commercial travellers, anglers, and even people transporting racing pigeons were targeted with special offers.

Passenger miles rose sharply from 6,500 million in 1932 to 8,500 million by 1937, while improved maintenance and better stock utilisation reduced the number of coaches needed. In 1938, the LMS opened a School of Transport in Derby to train staff in railway best practice.

Railway posters

The LMS’s commercial success in the 1920s owed much to the work of English painter Norman Wilkinson. In 1923, Wilkinson advised T. C. Jeffrey, the LMS Superintendent of Advertising and Publicity, to strengthen ticket sales and the wider public image of the railway by using fine art in poster design. At that time, fine art in Europe and North America was already associated with quality, taste, and prestige, and Jeffrey embraced the idea.

For the first series of posters, Wilkinson invited 16 fellow alumni of the Royal Academy of London to contribute. Each artist received £100, and the finished posters measured 50 x 40 inches, with the image reproduced as a photolithographic print on double royal satin paper, filling 45 x 35 inches. These posters were displayed in railway stations across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

The LMS chose the subjects to advertise, but artists were given broad freedom in style and approach. This open brief produced a body of work that reflected the range of destinations and travel experiences available through the LMS. For the Irish Free State, Wilkinson designed a 1927 poster promoting LMS ferry services and connecting boat trains to Ireland. That campaign was accompanied by four Irish posters by Belfast modernist painter Paul Henry.

The collaboration between Wilkinson and Jeffrey was commercially successful. Between 1924 and 1928, 12,000 railway posters were sold to the public. Paul Henry’s 1925 poster of the Gaeltacht region of Connemara in County Galway proved the most popular, selling 1,500 copies.

Charter and excursion traffic

Charter and excursion trains were a major source of income for the LMS, which became highly skilled at moving large seasonal crowds. Locomotives and rolling stock were often kept in service specifically to handle such traffic.

In one year alone, the LMS operated 43 special trains for the Grand National at Aintree, and another 55 for the Cup Final at Wembley. Even larger events required far more extensive planning: the Glasgow Empire Exhibition required 1,800 special trains, while the Blackpool Illuminations generated another 1,456. More than 2.2 million holidaymakers arrived in Blackpool between early July and the end of September alone.

The LMS also organised regular tourist excursions to destinations such as Oban, Keswick, and even the First World War battlefields in Belgium, reached via the Tilbury to Dunkerque ferry and the Belgian railways.

The importance of this traffic led to the creation of a dedicated department in 1929. Under its supervision, the number of special trains increased from 7,500 in that year to nearly 22,000 by 1938.

Scheduled services

Despite the value of excursion business, the LMS recognised that regular scheduled services were central to its long-term success. It introduced a range of improvements designed to make rail travel more attractive and to increase business.

Services were accelerated, rolling stock quality improved, and from 24 September 1928 sleeping cars became available to third-class passengers for the first time. These measures had a major effect: receipts from passenger traffic rose by £2.9 million between 1932 and 1938.

The LMS also developed several premium services, culminating in the launch of the Coronation Scot in 1937. This train used streamlined locomotives and specially built nine-coach stock to run between London Euston and Glasgow Central in six and a half hours.

Other famous named expresses included 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 linking Liverpool and Manchester with Bournemouth.

Goods services

Goods traffic generated around 60% of LMS revenue and covered an even broader range than passenger operations. The railway handled everything from perishable freight such as milk, fish, and meat to bulk minerals and small point-to-point consignments for individuals and businesses.

Among the most notable freight workings were the Toton–Brent coal trains, which carried coal from the Nottinghamshire coalfield to London.

Traction and rolling stock

Construction

The LMS inherited and operated a number of railway works from its constituent companies. Together, these facilities built locomotives, coaching stock, multiple units, freight wagons, and a wide range of supporting equipment needed for everyday railway operations.

In Derby, the LMS had two major sites: Derby Loco and Carriage and Wagon. The first had been opened in the 1840s by the North Midland, Midland Counties, and Birmingham & Derby railways for their shared locomotive, carriage, and wagon needs. The second was established in the 1860s by the Midland Railway during a reorganisation of Derby facilities, leaving the older site to focus on locomotive work. The Midland also contributed works at Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, inherited from the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway.

The LNWR brought several important facilities into the LMS. Crewe Works, opened in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway, was its principal locomotive works. Wolverton works in Buckinghamshire had been established by the London and Birmingham Railway in the 1830s and, after locomotive work moved to Crewe in 1862, became the LNWR’s carriage works. In 1922, the LNWR also absorbed the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, bringing in their works at Horwich, opened in 1886.

St. Rollox railway works, north-east of Glasgow, had been built in 1856 by the Caledonian Railway, while Stoke works in Staffordshire had been established in 1864 by the North Staffordshire Railway. Both entered the LMS at grouping. St. Rollox became the main workshops for the LMS Northern Division, while Stoke was gradually run down and closed in 1930, with its work transferred to nearby Crewe.

Smaller workshops also came from other constituent companies, including facilities at Barrow-in-Furness from the Furness Railway, Bow from the North London Railway, Kilmarnock from the Glasgow and South Western Railway, and Inverness from the Highland Railway.

Locomotives

See Locomotives of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS locomotive numbering and classification, and List of LMS locomotives as of 31 December 1947.

Coaching stock

See Coaches of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

The LMS inherited a wide variety of passenger rolling stock and appointed Robert Whyte Reid, formerly of the Midland Railway, to lead its carriage department. Reid had already introduced more efficient carriage-building methods at the Derby Carriage and Wagon Works, and these were soon extended to the former LNWR works at Wolverton and the former L&YR works at Newton Heath.

Traditional carriage construction relied on roughly machined parts being trimmed to final size and assembled by skilled coachbuilders. Reid replaced this with the use of templates or jigs, allowing large numbers of standardised components such as doors, ventilators, windows, and seats to be produced to exact dimensions and used interchangeably.

The next stage was to streamline assembly itself. The LMS adopted a method known as progressive construction, in which mass-produced parts were first formed into major “unit assemblies” such as side panels, carriage ends, or roofs. Workshops were then organised on the flow-line principle, similar to a modern assembly line, so that these units moved through a sequence of workstations and became complete carriages as they progressed.

This approach had already been introduced at Derby before grouping, and it was adopted at Wolverton in 1925 and at Newton Heath two years later. The gains were dramatic: the construction time for a typical carriage fell from six weeks to six days. By 1931, Derby and Wolverton could handle the entire LMS carriage-building workload, and production at Newton Heath ended.

Livery

Each constituent company of the LMS had previously used its own liveries for locomotives and rolling stock. Since the company’s board was dominated by former Midland Railway officers, the LMS adopted the Midland’s “crimson lake” livery for coaching stock, a shade also used before grouping by the Midland and the Glasgow & South Western Railway, with the North Staffordshire Railway using a closely similar colour. The livery proved practical, durable, and successful.

Electrification

See [Suburban electrification of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suburban_electrification_of_the_London, Midland_and_Scottish_Railway).

The LMS operated several suburban electric railway systems in and around London, Liverpool, Manchester, and Lancashire.

In the London area, schemes generally used the four-rail system also found on tube and sub-surface railways such as the Metropolitan Railway. Lines from Bow to Barking, Euston to Watford Junction, and Broad Street to Richmond, along with related branches and connecting lines, were already electrified before the LMS was formed. The LMS later extended electrification from Barking to Upminster in 1932.

In the Liverpool area, routes used third rail electrification at 630 V DC. Services from Liverpool Exchange to Southport and Aintree, and from Aintree to Ormskirk, were already complete before grouping. The network was extended in 1938 from Birkenhead Park to West Kirby and New Brighton.

In Manchester, the route from Bury to Manchester Victoria had already been electrified by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway using a side-contact third rail. In partnership with the LNER, the former Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway was electrified using a 1500 V DC overhead line system, which opened on 11 May 1931.

The route between Lancaster and Heysham via Morecambe had already been electrified by the Midland Railway in 1908 using a 6600 V AC overhead system.

All-steel carriages

In 1926, the LMS introduced its “all-steel carriage”, a major break from earlier construction methods. Previously, carriages had wooden or steel-plated wooden bodies mounted on heavy underframes. The new design used a steel tube or box girder structure that formed both the body and the load-bearing element, removing the need for a heavy underframe.

This made the carriages stronger in collisions, as demonstrated in the accident at Dinwoodie-Wamphray on 25 October 1928, when the leading all-steel carriage absorbed most of the impact. Construction was outsourced to external firms, largely as a way of providing work during difficult economic conditions. However, the LMS later returned to more conventional carriage-building methods because improvements in its own workshops made outside construction less efficient and less economical.