Time travel

LNER’S 100 years of train innovation

For one century, the London and North Eastern Railway has been the main train operator of the East Coast Mainline, connecting London and Edinburgh, calling at more than 50 stations and totalling 956 miles.

Its famous Art Deco posters from the 1920s and 1930s showed off destinations along the way. One standout piece, “Over The Forth To The North”, a depiction of The Forth Bridge by Henry George Gawthorn, fetched £12,600 at auction.

In 1928, The Flying Scotsman, designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, completed its first non-stop run on the route between London and Edinburgh. The train was given a new type of tender with a corridor to help it run this non-stop service reducing its journey time to eight hours.

It had luxury carriages, including a Louis Xiv-style first-class restaurant car and a cinema car, plus a barber’s shop, in which shaves with a cutthroat razor were offered — a tribute to smooth riding.

In 1934, it was the first locomotive to be recorded as officially reaching 100mph.

A year later, named to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V, “The Silver Jubilee” train made its inaugural run and attained 112mph, a new UK record.

In 1938, the A4 Pacific locomotive, Mallard, claimed the world speed record for steam locomotives, going at 126mph.

Wilston Samuel Jackson, who drove for LNER, was Britain’s first Black train driver. He operated locomotives and helped other Black drivers study for their exams.

In 1978, British Rail introduced the High Speed Train on the East Coast Main Line improving journey times and, in 1989, the electric Intercity 225 entered service.

Azuma trains hit tracks in 2019 with the London to Leeds leg taking only two hours 13 minutes. Subsequent Azumas launched in other LNER destinations including Edinburgh, York, Newcastle, Lincoln, Aberdeen, Inverness and Middlesbrough.

LNER marked its 100th anniversary this month with the pop-up LNER 1923 Restaurant at The Grand Hotel in York – the former LNER HQ. Guests “travelled back” to 1923 to enjoy dishes served to passengers over the past century.

lner.co.uk

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