LNWR Crewe works, 1908. Many illustrations and diagrams. A "must have" for LNWR enthusiasts. To reduce server load this document has been spilt into several parts

"THE LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY AND CREWE WORKS". 

"The London and North-Western Ra.ilway, as it is to. day, is probahly historically the most interesting system of intercommunication ever constructed. Although many other railways came into existence about the same time, they all followed the example set them by the Stephensons. We do not ignore the claim of the Stockton and Darlington Railway to be the first line that ever carried passengers; but the work was done on so small a scale, and led to so little, that the claim that the railway system of the world began with the construction of the road between Liverpool a.nd Manchester, and the victory of the Rocket at Rainhill, cannot be disputed. And the intelligent management of the affairs of the company, and the skill, talent, and energy of its officers, have built up a. railway system the efficiency and excellence of which cannot be exceeded.

The London and North· Western Railway system began wHh the thirty miles line linking Liverpool and Mancbester. The company expected to earn .£10,000 a. year from passenger traffic.The first yeax the receipts were .£101,829. Goods were expected to give £50,000. They gave over £80,000. No wonder there was a boom in railways.

In 1846, the London and Birmingham, the Grand Junction, which under another Act had already been incorporated with the Liverpool and Manchester, and the Birmingham and Manchester Railway, were amalgamated under the title of the London and North-Western Railway. Between 1846 and 1849 the South Staffordshire, the Chester and Holyhead, the Lancaster and Carlisle, and some forty smaller companies were absorbed. Some of these were only leased. In 1877 a. consolidation Act was passed, welding these undertakings into one homogeneous whole. We propose in the following pages to lay before our readers - and particularly our younger readers- some of the more salient features of the history of the line. We shall first refer to the construction of the London and Birmingham section, with a. reference to the great.bridge crossing the Memu Straits. We shall then deal wlth the development of the locomotives working the system, then some notes on the method of conducting traffic in the early days and conclude with a. description of the Crewe Works as they are to-day."