The Coronation Scot was a named express passenger train of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway inaugurated in 1937 for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth which ran until the start of the war in 1939. It ran on the West Coast Main Line between London (Euston station) and Glasgow (Central station), stopping at Carlisle for crew change and to pick up and set down passengers to and from London only. The service was designed to compete with the rival services on the East Coast Main Line, for prestigious London to Scotland traffic. It was scheduled to complete the journey from London to Glasgow in 6 hours 30 minutes. [1]
The streamlined Coronation Class locomotives were specially developed for the service, and were amongst the most powerful steam locomotives to operate on British railways. On a press run preparatory to the introduction of the service in June 1937, LMS Coronation Class 6220 Coronation, newly built, achieved a speed of 114 miles per hour (183 km/h) near Crewe.
Three trainsets were formed from existing carriages and given a blue livery similar in colour to that previously used by the Caledonian Railway (the LMS' normal livery was the crimson lake of the former Midland Railway). The first five of the Coronation Class pacifics were also turned out in blue with silver "cheat lines".
The Coronation Scot ran only on weekdays and during summer weekends. Two of the carriage sets were used on other trains;[ citation needed ] the spare set was kept at LMS's Wolverton Works.
The train formation was (first class towards London end):
LMS coaching staff notice ERO 4522590-02 stipulated the formation. Photographic evidence suggests that the sets were turned so that first class always ran at the rear of the train.[ citation needed ] Sometimes a different formation ran on a Monday after carriages had been used on other services at weekends.
All passenger cars were equipped with air-conditioning ventilation, adjustable by individual passengers to give any desired temperature within the provided range. [2]
A popular piece of light orchestral music celebrating this train was composed by Vivian Ellis. This was used as the theme tune for the BBC Radio programme Paul Temple . [3]
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 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, Midland Railway, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, several Scottish railway companies, and numerous other, smaller ventures.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Princess Royal Class is a class of express passenger 4-6-2 steam locomotive designed by William Stanier. Twelve examples were built at Crewe Works, between 1933 and 1935, for use on the West Coast Main Line. Two are preserved.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Coronation Class is a class of express passenger steam locomotives designed by William Stanier. They were an enlarged and improved version of his previous design, the LMS Princess Royal Class, and on test were the most powerful steam locomotives ever used in Britain at 2,511 dbhp. The locomotives were specifically designed for power as it was intended to use them on express services between London Euston and Glasgow Central; their duties were to include the hauling of a proposed non-stop express, subsequently named the Coronation Scot. The first ten locomotives of the Coronation class were built in a streamlined form in 1937 by the addition of a steel streamlined casing. Five of these ten were specifically set aside to pull the Coronation Scot. Although a later batch of five unstreamlined locomotives was produced in 1938, most of the ensuing Coronation class were outshopped as streamliners. From 1944 until production ended in 1948, all-new engines were built in unstreamlined form and all the streamliners had their casings removed. The last of the 38 locomotives was completed in 1948.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway had the largest stock of steam locomotives of any of the 'Big Four' Grouping, i.e. pre-Nationalisation railway companies in the UK. Despite early troubles arising from factions within the new company, the LMS went on to build some very successful designs; many lasted until the end of steam traction on British Railways in 1968. For an explanation of numbering and classification, see British Rail locomotive and multiple unit numbering and classification.
The steam locomotives of British Railways were used by British Railways over the period 1948–1968. The vast majority of these were inherited from its four constituent companies, the "Big Four".
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Royal Scot Class is a class of 4-6-0 express passenger locomotive introduced in 1927. Originally having parallel boilers, all members were later rebuilt with tapered type 2A boilers, and were in effect two classes.
London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Coronation Class 6229Duchess of Hamilton is a preserved steam locomotive built in September 1938 by the LMS Crewe Works and operated until February 1964.
The Royal Scot was a named passenger express train that ran between London Euston and Glasgow Central on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), with previously a portion also going to Edinburgh.
LMS Princess Coronation Class 46233 Duchess of Sutherland is a steam locomotive built in 1938 for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) at Crewe Works to a design by William Stanier. It is a 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive built as part of the LMS Coronation Class for its express passenger services, including the Royal Scot service from London to Glasgow.
LMS No. 10000 and 10001 were the first mainline diesel locomotives built in Great Britain. They were built in association with English Electric by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at its Derby Works, using an English Electric 1,600 hp diesel engine, generator and electrics.
London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Royal Scot Class 6100Royal Scot is a preserved British steam locomotive.
The Scottish Region (ScR) was one of the six regions created on British Railways (BR) and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and ex-London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) lines in Scotland. It existed from the creation of BR in 1948, and was renamed to ScotRail in the mid-1980s.
The Race to the North was the name given by the press to occasions in two summers of the late 19th century when British passenger trains belonging to different companies would literally race each other from London to Edinburgh over the two principal rail trunk routes connecting the English capital city to Scotland – the West Coast Main Line which runs from London Euston via Crewe and Carlisle and the East Coast Main Line route from London King's Cross via York and Newcastle. The "races" were never official and publicly the companies denied that what happened was racing at all. Results were not announced officially and the outcomes have since been hotly debated. In the 20th century there were also occasions of competition for speed on the two routes.
Caledonian Railway Single No. 123 is a preserved Scottish steam locomotive. The unique 4-2-2 was built by Neilson and Company in 1886, works No. 3553, as an exhibition locomotive. In 1914 it was placed on the Caledonian Railway duplicate list, and renumbered 1123. It entered London, Midland and Scottish Railway service in 1923 and the LMS renumbered it 14010 and gave it the power classification 1P. During the 1920s it was allocated to working the directors' saloon, but it was returned to ordinary service in 1930. The locomotive was withdrawn in 1935, by which time it was the last single-wheeled express engine running in Britain, and set aside for preservation.
London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Jubilee Class No. 5699Galatea is a preserved British steam locomotive.
The Coronation was a streamlined express passenger train run by the London and North Eastern Railway between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. Named to mark the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, it was inaugurated on 5 July 1937. The down train (northbound) left London at 4 pm and arrived in Edinburgh at 10 pm; the up train (southbound) ran half an hour later.
The history of British Rail's corporate liveries is quite complex. Although from the mid-1960s to the 1980s the organisation was associated with "Rail Blue", a number of other schemes were also used, especially when it was split into operating units or "sectors" in the mid-1980s.
London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), Coronation Class, LMS No. 6235, British Railways No. 46235 City of Birmingham is a preserved British steam locomotive.
A steam railcar is a rail vehicle that does not require a locomotive as it contains its own steam engine. The first steam railcar was an experimental unit designed and built in 1847 by James Samuel and William Bridges Adams. In 1848, they made the Fairfield steam carriage that they sold to the Bristol and Exeter Railway, who used it for two years on a branch line.
The following two references cover the carriages; for the engines see the "LMS Princess Coronation Class" article.