Overview | |
---|---|
Service type | Passenger train |
First service | 12 September 1932 |
Last service | 1962 |
Former operator(s) | LMS, BR |
Route | |
Start | London Euston |
End | Manchester London Road |
Service frequency | Daily |
Line(s) used | West Coast Main Line |
The Comet was a named passenger train operating in the United Kingdom. [1]
The train first ran on Monday 12 September 1932. [2] The Down train from Euston at 11.50am, calling at Crewe with an arrival at Manchester London Road at 3.20pm comprised a six-coach set of carriages, plus a seven-coach set which was split off at Crewe for Liverpool.
The Up train had a departure from Manchester London Road at initially 5.40pm, but later 5.45pm with only one stop at Stafford, arrived in London Euston at 9.p.m, comprising eleven carriages. The Up train was so popular that a relief ran 5 minutes in front of it on Fridays. The train was usually hauled by an Royal Scot locomotive.
It was suspended for the duration of the Second World War but re-appeared in 1949. [3] The Up train had an additional call at Crewe and took nearly 30 minutes longer than its pre-war schedule. In 1954 the schedule was re-timed, and a journey time of 3.5 hours was achieved.
The service disappeared with electrification of the West Coast Main Line in 1962.
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.
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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.
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