| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Mail & passenger train |
| First service | 1 August 1848 |
| Last service | 1 June 2002 |
| Former operator(s) | Virgin Trains InterCity British Rail London, Midland & Scottish Railway London & North Western Railway |
| Route | |
| Termini | London Euston Holyhead |
| Distance travelled | 264 miles |
| Line(s) used | West Coast North Wales Coast |
| Technical | |
| Rolling stock | Multiple, including InterCity 125, Royal Scot, British Railways Mark 1 |
| Operating speed | Up to 125 mph |
The Irish Mail was a named train in the United Kingdom that operated from London Euston via the West Coast and North Wales Coast lines to Holyhead from 1848 until 2002, connecting with ferry services to Dublin.
The first Irish Mail was operated by the London & North Western Railway on 1 August 1848. It was subsequently operated by the London, Midland & Scottish Railway, British Rail, InterCity and Virgin Trains. As the Britannia Bridge had yet to be completed, the first services terminated at Bangor and recommenced at Llanfairpwllgwyngyll. It operated twice daily in each direction, although this was reduced to daily during World War II. [1] [2]
Although notionally an express service, with the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, from the 1960s, the service stopped for a locomotive change at Crewe. [2]
Although the service continued to operate, the name was dropped in June 2002 as part of a policy by Virgin Trains not to operate named trains. [3]
In 1998, Virgin Trains named Class 43 powercar 43101 The Irish Mail 1848 - 1998 to commemorate the services' 150th anniversary. [2]
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.
Virgin Trains (VT)(legal name West Coast Trains Limited) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Virgin Rail Group, a joint venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach, which operated the InterCity West Coast franchise from 9 March 1997 to 7 December 2019. The franchise covered long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and southern Scotland, consequently connecting six of the UK's largest cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh, which have a combined metropolitan population of over 18 million. Virgin Trains had around 3,400 employees in 2015.
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. In 1923, it became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) railway, and, in 1948, the London Midland Region of British Railways. The LNWR's main line remains today as the English and Welsh portions of the West Coast Main Line.
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, the Midland Railway, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, several Scottish railway companies, and numerous other, smaller ventures.
Arriva Trains Wales was a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operated the Wales & Borders franchise. It ran urban and inter-urban passenger services to all railway stations in Wales, including Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham General and Holyhead, as well as to certain stations in England such as Hereford, Shrewsbury, Chester, Crewe, Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street.
Penmaenmawr is a town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, which was formerly in the parish of Dwygyfylchi and the traditional county of Caernarfonshire. It is on the North Wales coast between Conwy and Llanfairfechan and was an important quarrying town, though quarrying is no longer a major employer. The population of the community was 4,353 in 2011, including Dwygyfylchi and Capelulo. The town itself having a population of 2,868 (2011).
The British Rail Class 57 is a type of diesel locomotive that was remanufactured from Class 47s by Brush Traction of Loughborough between 1998 and 2004.
InterCity was introduced by British Rail in 1966 as a brand-name for its long-haul express passenger services.
The Northern Counties Committee (NCC) was a railway that served the north-east of Ireland. It was built to Irish gauge but later acquired a number of 914 mm narrow gauge lines. It had its origins in the Belfast and Ballymena Railway which opened to traffic on 11 April 1848.
Virgin CrossCountry was a train operating company in the United Kingdom that operated the InterCity CrossCountry passenger franchise from January 1997 until November 2007. Along with the InterCity West Coast franchise held by a separate legal entity, the company traded under the Virgin Trains brand.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Hughes Crab or Horwich Mogul is a class of mixed-traffic 2-6-0 steam locomotive built between 1926 and 1932. They are noted for their appearance with large steeply-angled cylinders to accommodate a restricted loading gauge.
Chester railway station is located in Newtown, Chester, England. Services are operated by Avanti West Coast, Merseyrail, Northern and Transport for Wales. From 1875 to 1969, the station was known as Chester General to distinguish it from Chester Northgate. The station's Italianate frontage was designed by the architect Francis Thompson.
Abergele & Pensarn railway station is a stop on the North Wales Coast Line, which serves both the town of Abergele and suburb of Pensarn in Conwy County Borough, Wales.
Penmaenmawr railway station serves the town of Penmaenmawr, Wales, and is located on the North Wales Coast Line travelling from Crewe to Holyhead, 49+1⁄4 miles (79.3 km) west of Chester. The station is a request stop.
Holyhead railway station serves the Welsh town of Holyhead on Holy Island, Anglesey. The station is the western terminus of the North Wales Coast Line 105+1⁄2 miles (170 km) west of Crewe and is managed by Transport for Wales Rail. It connects with the Port of Holyhead ferry terminal. The station is connected to the town centre by a stainless steel pedestrian/cycle bridge named The Celtic Gateway.
The Chester and Holyhead Railway was an early railway company conceived to improve transmission of Government dispatches between London and Ireland, as well as ordinary railway objectives. Its construction was hugely expensive, chiefly due to the cost of building the Britannia Tubular Bridge over the Menai Strait. The company had relied on Government support in facilitating the ferry service, and this proved to be uncertain. The company opened its main line throughout in 1850. It relied on the co-operation of other railways to reach London, and in 1859 it was absorbed by the London and North Western Railway.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Rebuilt Royal Scot Class is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotives. 70 members of this class were rebuilt by the LMS and its successor British Railways (BR) from LMS Royal Scot Class engines by the replacement of their life expired parallel boilers with a type 2A boiler over the period 1943–1955.. They were the second class to be rebuilt with type-2 boilers, after the rebuilding of British Legion and the Jubilee Class.
The Holywell branch line was a railway branch line in North Wales that connected Holywell with the North Wales Coast Line at Holywell Junction. Holywell had quite a large amount of mineral resources and the branch line was built originally as a mineral railway. When the local industry declined, the line fell into disuse, but it was reopened as a tourist passenger line in 1912. Road competition made the railway non-viable and this then caused the line to be closed in 1954.
The Mold Railway was a railway company that built a line in north-east Wales. The line linked Mold to Chester and it opened on 14 August 1849. The company built a mineral branch line to Ffrith, opened in November 1849. Mold itself was an important regional centre, and contained considerable mineral resources.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) 7 ft 6 in Single 2-2-2 class was a type of express passenger locomotive designed by John Ramsbottom. The class is better known as the Problem class for the first locomotive built, or the Lady of the Lake class for the example that was displayed at the International Exhibition of 1862.