London Midland Region of British Railways: Difference between revisions

London Midland Region of British Railways
	Region logo from 1965 to 1992.
Franchise(s)	Not subject to franchising (1 January 1948 – 31 December 1992)
Main Region(s)	London, North West of England, West Midlands
Parent company	British Rail

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The London Midland Region (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways (BR), and initially consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) lines in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The region was managed first from buildings adjacent to Euston station, and later from Stanier House in Birmingham. It existed from the creation of BR in 1948, ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s, and was wound up at the end of 1992.

Territory

At its inception, the LMR's territory consisted of ex-LMS lines in England and Wales. The Mersey Railway, which had avoided being "Grouped" with the LMS in 1923, also joined the LMR. The LMR's territory principally consisted of the West Coast Main Line (WCML), the Midland Main Line (MML) south of Carlisle, and the ex-Midland Cross Country route from Bristol to Leeds.

During the LMR's existence there were a number of transfers of territory to and from other regions. The major changes were:

In 1949 the London, Tilbury and Southend line, which was completely cut off from the rest of the LMR network, transferred to the Eastern
Also in 1949, the isolated from the rest of the LMR ex-LMS Northern Counties Committee railway lines in Northern Ireland were bought by the Ulster Transport Authority.
In 1958 a major re-drawing of the regional boundaries took place. LMR lines in South Wales and south-west of Birmingham were transferred to the Western; lines in Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire went to the Eastern; in North and West Yorkshire to the North Eastern. In return, the London Midland gained the former Great Central Railway laying outside Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
In 1974, the Chiltern Main Line from London Marylebone to Banbury and Birmingham Moor Street was transferred to the LMR from the Western Region.

Locomotives and rolling stock

The LMR inherited ex-LMS types of steam locomotive. For a few months in early 1948, an M prefix was added to existing LMS locomotive numbers. From mid-1948, 40000 was added, giving numbers of ex-LMS types in the 4XXXX and 5XXXX series. Some elderly locomotive classes were renumbered in the 58XXX series to make way for new production of LMS designs.

The LMR initially continued building ex-LMS stock, particularly Black Fives, Ivatt 2MT, two Duchesses, and rebuilds of Royal Scots and Patriots. Stanier "Period III" carriages continued to be built and were developed into a new style known as "Porthole" stock. Freight stock on order at Nationalisation was completed: some LMS designs were accepted as BR standard designs and continued to be built for the whole network through the 1950s and early 1960s.

The LMR had some experimental diesel locomotives, such as the Class D16/1 and "Fell locomotive" 10100.

In August 1968 it was the last region of BR to eliminate steam traction under the 1955 Modernisation Plan.

West Coast Main Line electrification

In the 1960s, the West Coast Main Line was electrified between London Euston and Crewe, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. This was extended via Carlisle to Glasgow in the 1970s.

References

Ball, MG. British Railways Atlas Ian Allan Publishing 2004

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-{{For|the modern day train operating company|London Midland}}
+{{short description|British Rail operating region}}
+{{For|the former West Midlands Franchise Operator|London Midland}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
+{{Use British English|date=May 2017}}
 {{Infobox rail company
-| name = London Midland Region of British Railways
+| name           = London Midland Region of British Railways
-| image_filename = Image:British Railways London Midland Region station totem for Hoylake.jpg
+| image_filename = British Rail - London Midland Logo.svg
+| caption        = Region logo from 1965 to 1992.
-| widthpx =
+| image_size     = 200
-| caption = British Railways London Midland region totem station sign for [[Hoylake]] on Merseyside
-| franchise = Not subject to franchising (1 January 1948-31 December 1992)
+| franchise      = Not subject to franchising (1 January 1948 – 31 December 1992)
-| nameforarea = Region
+| nameforarea    = Region
-| regions = [[London]], [[North West of England]], [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]]
+| regions        = [[London]], [[North West of England]], [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]]
-| secregions =
+| secregions     =
-| fleet =
+| fleet          =
-| stations =
+| stations       =
-| stationsop =
+| stationsop     =
-| parent_company = British Rail
+| parent_company = [[British Railways|British Rail]]
-| website =
+| website        =
 }}
+[[File:London Midland Region of British Railways totem Redvers.png|thumb|225px|Station totem design prior to 1965]]
-The '''London Midland Region''' (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised [[British Railways]] (BR) and consisted of ex-[[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] (LMS) lines in [[England]] and [[Wales]]. The region was managed first from buildings adjacent to [[Euston Station]] and later from Stanier House in [[Birmingham]]. It existed from the creation of BR in 1948, ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992.
+The '''London Midland Region''' (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised [[British Rail]]ways (BR), and initially consisted of ex-[[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] (LMS) lines in [[England]], [[Wales]] and [[Northern Ireland]]. The region was managed first from buildings adjacent to [[Euston railway station|Euston station]], and later from Stanier House in [[Birmingham]]. It existed from the creation of BR in 1948, ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s, and was wound up at the end of 1992.
 == Territory ==
-At its inception, the LMR's territory consisted of ex-LMS lines in [[England]] and [[Wales]]. LMS lines in [[Scotland]] became part of the [[Scottish Region]], whilst those of the [[Northern Counties Committee]] (NCC) in [[Northern Ireland]] became part of the [[Ulster Transport Authority]] (UTA). The [[Mersey Railway]], which had avoided being [[Railways Act 1921|"Grouped"]] with the LMS in 1923, also joined the LMR.
+At its inception, the LMR's territory consisted of ex-LMS lines in England and Wales. The [[Mersey Railway]], which had avoided being [[Railways Act 1921|"Grouped"]] with the LMS in 1923, also joined the LMR. The LMR's territory principally consisted of the [[West Coast Main Line]] (WCML), the [[Midland Main Line]] (MML) south of [[Carlisle railway station|Carlisle]], and the [[Midland Railway|ex-Midland]] Cross Country route from [[Bristol Temple Meads railway station|Bristol]] to [[Leeds railway station|Leeds]].
+During the LMR's existence there were a number of transfers of territory to and from other regions. The major changes were:
-The other regions formed at the same time were the [[Eastern Region of British Railways|Eastern Region]], the [[North Eastern Region of British Railways|North Eastern Region]], the [[Southern Region of British Railways|Southern Region]], the [[Western Region of British Railways|Western Region]] and the [[Scottish Region of British Railways|Scottish Region]].
+* In 1949 the [[London, Tilbury and Southend line]], which was completely cut off from the rest of the LMR network, transferred to the [[Eastern Region of British Railways|Eastern]]
-The LMR's territory principally consisted of the [[West Coast Main Line]] (WCML) and the [[Midland Main Line]] (MML) south of [[Carlisle railway station|Carlisle]] and the [[Midland Railway|ex-Midland]] Cross Country route from [[Bristol]] to [[Leeds]].
+* Also in 1949, the isolated from the rest of the LMR ex-LMS [[Northern Counties Committee]] railway lines in [[Northern Ireland]] were bought by the [[Ulster Transport Authority]].
+* In 1958 a major re-drawing of the regional boundaries took place. LMR lines in South Wales and south-west of Birmingham were transferred to the [[Western Region of British Railways|Western]]; lines in Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire went to the Eastern; in North and West Yorkshire to the [[North Eastern Region of British Railways|North Eastern]]. In return, the London Midland gained the former [[Great Central Railway]] laying outside Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
-During the time of the LMR's existence there were a number of transfers of territory to and from other regions. The major changes were:
+* In 1974, the [[Chiltern Main Line]] from [[Marylebone station|London Marylebone]] to {{rws|Banbury}} and {{rws|Birmingham Moor Street}} was transferred to the LMR from the Western Region.
-* In 1949 the [[London, Tilbury and Southend Railway]], which was wholly surrounded by Eastern lines and almost completely cut off from the rest of the LMR network, was transferred to the Eastern.
-* In 1958 a major re-drawing of the regional boundaries took place. LMR lines in South Wales and south-west of Birmingham were transferred to the Western; lines in [[Lincolnshire]] and the present-day [[South Yorkshire]] went to the Eastern Region and in the present-day [[West Yorkshire|West]] and [[North Yorkshire]] to the North Eastern Region. In return the London Midland gained the lines of the former [[Great Central Railway]] that lay outside [[Yorkshire]] and [[Lincolnshire]].
-* In 1974, the [[Chiltern Main Line|Chiltern line]] from [[London Marylebone]] to [[Banbury railway station|Banbury]] and [[Birmingham Moor Street]] was transferred to the LMR from the Western Region.
 == Locomotives and rolling stock ==
-The LMR inherited ex-LMS types of steam locomotive. For a few months in early 1948, an M prefix was added to existing LMS loco numbers. From mid-1948, 40000 was added, giving numbers of ex-LMS types in the 4XXXX and 5XXXX series. Some elderly loco classes were renumbered in the 58XXX series to make way for new production of LMS designs.
+The LMR inherited ex-LMS types of steam locomotive. For a few months in early 1948, an M prefix was added to existing LMS locomotive numbers. From mid-1948, 40000 was added, giving numbers of ex-LMS types in the 4XXXX and 5XXXX series. Some elderly locomotive classes were renumbered in the 58XXX series to make way for new production of LMS designs.
 The LMR initially continued building ex-LMS stock, particularly [[LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0|Black Fives]], [[LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0|Ivatt 2MT]], two [[LMS Princess Coronation Class|Duchesses]], and rebuilds of [[LMS Royal Scot Class 6100 Royal Scot|Royal Scots]] and [[LMS Patriot Class|Patriots]]. Stanier "Period III" carriages continued to be built and were developed into a new style known as "Porthole" stock. Freight stock on order at Nationalisation was completed: some LMS designs were accepted as BR standard designs and continued to be built for the whole network through the 1950s and early 1960s.
+The LMR had some experimental diesel locomotives, such as the [[British Rail Class D16/1|Class D16/1]] and [[British Rail 10100|"Fell locomotive" 10100]].
-In 1968 it was the last region of BR to completely eliminate steam traction under the [[1955 Modernisation Plan]].
+[[File:British Railways London Midland Region station totem for Hoylake.jpg|thumb|200px|left|A totem station sign for [[Hoylake]] in Merseyside.]]
+In August 1968 it was the last region of BR to eliminate steam traction under the [[1955 Modernisation Plan]].
 == West Coast Main Line electrification ==
-In the 1960s, the [[West Coast Main Line]] was [[Railway electrification in Great Britain|electrified]] between [[London Euston]] and [[Crewe]], [[Liverpool]], [[Manchester]] and [[Birmingham]]. This was extended via {{Stnlnk|Carlisle}} to [[Glasgow]] in the 1970s.
+In the 1960s, the [[West Coast Main Line]] was [[Railway electrification in Great Britain|electrified]] between [[Euston railway station|London Euston]] and [[Crewe railway station|Crewe]], [[Liverpool Lime Street railway station|Liverpool]], [[Manchester Piccadilly station|Manchester]] and [[Birmingham New Street railway station|Birmingham]]. This was extended via {{Stnlnk|Carlisle}} to [[Glasgow Central railway station|Glasgow]] in the 1970s.
 == References ==
 * Ball, MG. ''British Railways Atlas'' Ian Allan Publishing 2004
-{{British Rail}}
+{{British Railways regions |state=expanded}}
+{{British Rail |state=collapsed}}
 [[Category:British Rail regions]]