London & North Eastern Railway

The London & North Eastern Railway was created by the amalgamation of seven companies on 1st January 1923. These were the North Eastern, Great Eastern, Great Northern, Great Central, Hull & Barnsley, North British and the Great North of Scotland railway companies. Along with 26 smaller companies, this produced a total mileage of approximately 6,700 miles.

Among these companies, the North Eastern & and the Hull & Barnsley had merged on 1st January 1922, whilst the Great Central with its cross country main line in the north and its London main line, encroached into LMS territory.

The Coat of Arms that was chosen was impressive with a full heraldic description as follows:

'Argent on a Cross Gules between the first and fourth quarters a Griffin seqreant Sable in the second a Rose of the the second leaved and slipped proper and in the third quarter a Thistle also leaved and slipped proper the Castle of Edinburgh proper betwen four Lions passant Or And for the Crest On a Wreath of the Colours Issuant from Clouds of Steam the figure of Mercury Proper'

The motto 'Forward' was that originally used by the Great Central Railway. Unfortunately, apart from being hand painted on the Flying Scotsman for exhibition at Wembly in 1924 and a small directer's inspection loco, the insignia was never used on any locomotive or coach; no transfers were ever made.

Sir Nigel Gresley designed many locomotives, both large and small, for the LNER. Amongst these were the streamlined A4 4-6-2 pacifics, V2 2-6-2 mixed traffic locos and the J39 0-6-0.

Nigel Gresley's successor, Edward Thompson, preferred a two-cylinder 4-6-0 design. His first loco of this type was the successful B1 class, introduced in 1942, of which 410 were eventually built.

Last revised: 9 June 1998