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The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for 399 miles (642 km) and was opened from 1837 to 1869. With additional lines deviating to Northampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, this totals a route mileage of 700 miles (1,127 km). The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects the WCML to Edinburgh. However, the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line. Several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing links to more rural towns.
The British Rail Class 55, also known as a Deltic, or English Electric Type 5, is a class of diesel locomotive built in 1961 and 1962 by English Electric for British Railways. Twenty-two locomotives were built, designed for the high-speed express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) between Edinburgh and London King's Cross. They gained the name "Deltic" from the prototype locomotive, DP1 Deltic, which in turn was named after its Napier Deltic power units. At the time of their introduction into service in 1961, the Class 55s were the most powerful single-unit diesel locomotives in the world, with a power output of 3,300 hp (2,500 kW). They had an official maximum speed of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), and introduced the first regular 100 mph diesel passenger service to Britain, they were however capable of higher speeds than this, and often exceeded their official maximum in service, especially in their later years, with speeds of up to 117 miles per hour (188 km/h), being recorded on level gradients, and up to 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) whilst descending Stoke Bank.
The British Rail Class 15 diesel locomotives, also known as the BTH Type 1, were designed by British Thomson-Houston, and built by the Yorkshire Engine Company and the Clayton Equipment Company, between 1957 and 1961. They were numbered D8200-D8243.
The British Rail Class 40 is a type of British railway diesel electric locomotive. A total of 200 were built by English Electric between 1958 and 1962. They were numbered D200-D399. They were, for a time, the pride of British Rail's early diesel fleet. However, despite their initial success, by the time the last examples were entering service they were already being replaced on some top-level duties by more powerful locomotives. As they were slowly relegated from express passenger uses, the type found work on secondary passenger and freight services where they worked for many years. The final locomotives ended regular service in 1985. The locomotives were commonly known as "Whistlers" because of the distinctive noise made by their turbochargers.
InterCity was introduced by British Rail in 1966 as a brand-name for its long-haul express passenger services.
The British Rail Class 37 is a diesel-electric locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation plan. They were numbered in two series, D6600–D6608 and D6700–D6999.
The Fen Line is a railway line in the east of England that links Cambridge in the south to King's Lynn in the north. The line runs through Cambridgeshire and Norfolk and the name of the line refers to the Fens which border Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire. It is 41 miles 47 chains (66.9 km) in length and has eight stations.
The Flying Scotsman is an express passenger train service that operates between Edinburgh and London, the capitals respectively of Scotland and England, via the East Coast Main Line. The service began in 1862 as the Special Scotch Express until it was officially adopted in 1924. It is currently operated by the London North Eastern Railway.
The West Anglia Main Line is one of the two main lines that operate out of Liverpool Street. It runs generally north through Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Harlow, Bishop's Stortford and Audley End to Cambridge, with branches between serving Stratford, Hertford and Stansted Airport. The line runs along the boundary between Hertfordshire and Essex for much of its length.
Ely railway station is on the Fen line in the east of England, serving the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire. It is 70 miles 30 chains (113.3 km) from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Waterbeach and Littleport stations on the Fen line to King's Lynn. It is an important junction for three other lines: the Ely to Peterborough Line, the Ipswich to Ely Line and the Norwich to Ely line.
Watlington railway station is on the Fen line in the east of England, serving the village of Watlington, Norfolk. It is 90 miles 70 chains (146.2 km) measured from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Downham Market and King's Lynn stations. Its three-letter station code is WTG.
King's Lynn railway station is the northern terminus of the Fen line in the east of England, serving the town of King's Lynn, Norfolk. It is 41 miles 47 chains (66.9 km) from Cambridge and 96 miles 75 chains (156.0 km) measured from London Liverpool Street.
Cambridge railway station is the principal station serving the city of Cambridge in the east of England. It stands at the end of Station Road, 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of the city centre. It is the northern terminus of the West Anglia Main Line, 55 miles 52 chains (89.6 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street, the southern terminus.
The British Rail Class 90 electric locomotives were built for mixed-traffic duties, operating from 25 kV AC overhead lines and producing 5,000 bhp (3,700 kW). They weigh 84.5 tonnes and can typically achieve a top speed of 110 mph (177 km/h).
Doncaster railway station is on the East Coast Main Line in England, serving the city of Doncaster, South Yorkshire. It is 155 miles 77 chains (251 km) down the line from London King's Cross and is situated between Retford and York on the main line. It is managed by London North Eastern Railway.
Darlington railway station is on the East Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom, serving the town of Darlington, County Durham. It is 232 miles 50 chains north of London King's Cross. It is situated between Northallerton to the south and Durham to the north. Its three-letter station code is DAR.
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 Manchester Pullman was a first-class-only Pullman passenger train operated by British Rail, targeted at business travellers. The service began in 1966, operating between Manchester Piccadilly and London Euston, and offered an at-seat restaurant service to all passengers. It was hauled by 25 kV AC electric locomotives between the British Rail Class 81 and British Rail Class 86 range. The rolling stock had several peculiarities, one being it had the vacuum brake system, so it could not be hauled by the British Rail Class 87 when they were introduced during the later life of the train as they were air brake only locomotives. It replaced the Midland Pullman upon completion of the electrification of the West Coast Main Line. There was also a less successful 'sister' Liverpool Pullman service that ran between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street.
The Broadsman was a named passenger train operating in the United Kingdom.
References
- ↑ Allen, Cecil J. (1967). Titled Trains of Great Britain. Ian Allan Ltd. p. 82.
- ↑ "Capitals Ltd. will have new coaches" . Shields Daily News. England. 9 May 1949. Retrieved 16 December 2017– via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Electronic national rail timetable. Table 17". Network Rail. Network Rail. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
- ↑ Riley, R C (1968). Great Eastern Album. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 99. SBN 7110 0063 8.
- ↑ "Express Mishap" . Aberdeen Evening Express. England. 15 June 1953. Retrieved 16 December 2017– via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Motive Power Miscellany". Trains Illustrated. Vol. XIV, no. 150. Hampton Court: Ian Allan. March 1961. p. 182.
- ↑ "The Hold Up at Audley End. Breakdown on the Queen's Diesel" . Daily Herald. England. 12 January 1961. Retrieved 16 December 2017– via British Newspaper Archive.