.jpg) Crest of the LMS on a railway carriage | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Euston House, London |
| Reporting mark | LMS |
| Locale | England; Northern Ireland; Scotland; Wales |
| Dates of operation | 1 January 1923[1]–1 January 1948 |
| Predecessor | |
| Successor | British Railways: Ulster Transport Authority:
|
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) inNorthern Ireland |
| Electrification | 600 or 650VDCthird rail 630 V DC third andfourth rail 1,200 V DCside contact third rail 6.6 kV 25HzACoverhead |
| Length | 7,790 miles (12,537 km) |
TheLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS[a]) was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under theRailways Act 1921,[1] which required the grouping of over 120 separate railways into four. The companies merged into the LMS included theLondon and North Western Railway, theMidland Railway, theLancashire and Yorkshire Railway (which had previously merged with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922), several Scottish railway companies (including theCaledonian Railway), and numerous other, smaller ventures.
Besides being the world's largest transport organisation, the company was also the largest commercial enterprise in theBritish Empire and the United Kingdom's second largest employer, after thePost Office.[3]
In 1938, the LMS operated 6,870 miles (11,056 km) of railway (excluding its lines inNorthern Ireland), but its profitability was generally disappointing, with a rate of return of only 2.7%. Under theTransport Act 1947, along with the other members of the "Big Four" British railway companies (Great Western Railway,London and North Eastern Railway andSouthern Railway), the LMS was nationalised on 1 January 1948, becoming part of the state-ownedBritish Railways.
The LMS was the largest of the Big Four railway companies[4] serving routes in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
_London_Midland_and_Scottish_Railway_map%2c_from_the_Digital_Commonwealth_-_commonwealth_ht2504589_(crop).jpg)
TheRailways Act 1921 created four large railway companies which were in effect geographical monopolies, albeit with competition at their boundaries, and with some lines either reaching into competitor territory, or being jointly operated.
The LMS operated services in and around London, the Midlands, the North West of England, Mid/North Wales and Scotland.[5] The company also operated a separate network of lines in Northern Ireland.
The principal routes were theWest Coast Main Line and theMidland Main Line, which had been the main routes of the two largest constituent companies, theLondon and North Western Railway and theMidland Railway respectively.
At the time of its creation, the LMS had inherited from the 35 merged companies, a system of 7,000 route miles and 19,000 track miles; accounting for 38.4% of the total mileage of the 'big four' grouped railways. It was the owner of 9,319 locomotives, 19,000 passenger-carrying vehicles, and 286,000 wagons. It operated more than 10,600 passenger trains and 15,000 goods trains a day, with a total staff of 231,000. In addition to this, the LMS owned 543 miles of canal, 8,950 horses, 17,000 carts, 2,000 motor vehicles, 64 steamboats and 27 docks, and was the owner of 28 hotels.[6]
The LMS operated a number of lines jointly with the other main railway companies,[7] a situation which arose when the former joint owners of a route were placed into different post-grouping companies.[8] Most of these were situated at or near the boundaries between two or more of the companies, but there were some notable examples which extended beyond this borderland zone.
Together with theLondon and North Eastern Railway, the LMS ran the formerMidland and Great Northern Joint Railway network.[7] Exceeding 183 miles (295 km), this was the largest jointly operated network in Great Britain in terms of route mileage,[9] and extended from Peterborough to the East Anglian coast. TheM&GN was wholly incorporated into theLNER in 1936.[7]
The LMS also operated a significant joint network with the Southern Railway, in the shape of the formerSomerset and Dorset Joint Railway.[7][10] This network connected Bath and Bournemouth, and wound its way through territory nominally allocated to a third railway company, theGreat Western.[7]
Through the formerMidland Railway holdings, the LMS, together with theGreat Northern Railway (Ireland), jointly owned theCounty Donegal Railways Joint Committee lines.[11]
Being geographically the largest, and the most central of the four main post-grouping railway companies, the LMS shared numerous boundaries with both the LNER and GWR, although its overlap with the Southern Railway was limited due to the general lack of direct routes through London. The SR and the LMS were mainly overlapping on theWest London Line.
Competition with the LNER was mainly in terms of the premium London to Scotland traffic, with the rival LMS (West Coast) and LNER (East Coast) routes competing to provide ever better standards of passenger comfort and faster journey times. The LNER also competed with the LMS for traffic between London, theEast Midlands,South Yorkshire andManchester, with the formerMidland main line fromSt Pancras (LMS) andGreat Central Main Line fromMarylebone (LNER) both providing express, stopping and local services between these destinations.
The London to Birmingham corridor was fiercely contested with the LMS running expresses over its West Coast Main Line viaRugby, and the Great Western running services viaBanbury.
The LMS was also the only one of the Big Four companies to operate rail services inNorthern Ireland, serving most major settlements in the region.
On 1 July 1903, the Midland Railway took over the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway and operated it under the name of Midland Railway (Northern Counties Committee). On grouping, the network became part of the LMS, again operating under the name of theNorthern Counties Committee, and consisted of 201 miles (323 km) of5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge track with a further 63 miles (101 km) of3 ft (914 mm) gauge line.[11]
The expansionist policies of many of the constituent companies which formed the LMS, particularly theMidland Railway and theLondon and North Western Railway, resulted in the LMS owning or operating a number of lines outside its core geographical area. For instance, in 1912, the Midland Railway had purchased theLondon, Tilbury and Southend Railway which operated betweenLondon Fenchurch Street andShoeburyness, with a loop servingTilbury. These lines were automatically included in the LMS Group, along with the rest of the Midland Railway system, which meant that the LMS had a considerable presence in a part of the country (south Essex) which could be said to form part of the natural territory of the LNER. The process of Grouping under the Railways Act did not address geographical anomalies of this kind, although this particular arrangement did provide a competitive choice for residents ofSouthend, who could take LNER services fromSouthend Victoria toLondon Liverpool Street or LMS services fromSouthend Central to Fenchurch Street.[12][13]
The LMS was formed from the following major companies:
There were also some 24 subsidiary railways, leased or worked by the above companies, and a large number of joint railways, including the UK's largest Joint Railway, theMidland & Great Northern, and one of the most famous, theSomerset & Dorset.[10] The LMS was the minority partner (with the LNER) in theCheshire Lines Committee.
In Ireland there were three railways:
All of the above operated, at least partially, inNorthern Ireland
The total route mileage of the LMS in 1923 was 7,790 miles (12,537 km).
The early history of the LMS was dominated by infighting between parties representing its constituent parts, many of whom had previously been commercial and territorial rivals. This was particularly marked in the case of theMidland and theNorth Western, each of which believed its way was the right – and only – way of doing business. This rivalry was so severe, that stories of connecting trains atBirmingham New Street from the previous LNWR and MR parts of the system, being deliberately made to miss each other persisted even as late as the early 1950s, long after their demise.[citation needed] Many of the senior appointments on the operating side were of former Midland men, such as James Anderson, so that Midland ideas and practices tended to prevail over those of other constituents. For example, the Midland's system of traffic control was imposed on a system-wide basis, along with the Midland livery of Crimson Lake for passenger locomotives and rolling stock. Particularly notable, especially after the appointment ofSir Henry Fowler as Chief Mechanical Engineer, was the continuation of the Midland Railway's small-engine policy (seeLocomotives of the Midland Railway).[14][15][16][17]
The LMS also implemented a novel management structure, breaking with British railway tradition, and mirroring a contemporary management practice more common in the United States, appointing a President and Vice-Presidents. On 4 January 1926,Josiah Stamp was appointed First President of the Executive,[1] the equivalent of a Chief executive in modern organisational structures. He added the role of chairman of the board of directors to his portfolio in January 1927,[1] succeedingSir Guy Granet.[18]
The arrival of the new chief mechanical engineer,William Stanier, who was brought in from theGreat Western Railway byJosiah Stamp in 1932,[19] heralded a change. Stanier introduced practices used at theSwindon Works that had been introduced byGeorge Jackson Churchward, such as tapered boilers, long travel valves, and large bearings. His locomotives were not only more powerful, and economical, but they also ended the company's internal conflict.[15][16]
The war-damaged LMS wasnationalised in 1948 by theTransport Act 1947, becoming part ofBritish Railways. It formed theLondon Midland Region and part of theScottish Region. British Railways transferred the lines inNorthern Ireland to theUlster Transport Authority in 1949. The London Midland & Scottish Railway Company continued to exist as a legal entity for nearly two years after Nationalisation, being formally wound up on 23 December 1949.[20] The lines in Great Britain were rationalised through closure in the 1950s to 70s but the main routes survive and some have been developed for 125 mph inter-city services.
Despite having widespread interests in a number of commercial areas, the LMS was first and foremost a railway organisation. It operated in all four constituent countries of the United Kingdom,[4] and in England its operations penetrated 32 of the 40counties.[21] The company operated around 7,000 route miles of railway line, servicing 2,944 goods depots and 2,588 passenger stations, using 291,490 freight vehicles, 20,276 passenger vehicles and 9,914 locomotives.[21] The company directly employed 263,000 staff, and through its annual coal consumption of over six and a half million tons, could claim to indirectly employ a further 26,500 coal miners.[22]
For nearly ten years after its formation, the LMS had been run using a similar organisational structure to one of its constituents, theMidland Railway.[23] In practice this meant that the commercial managers found themselves subservient to the needs of the operating departments. This changed in 1932 when a major restructuring was completed,[23] replacing the traditional board of directors with an executive headed by a president, supported by vice-presidents each with responsibility for a specific area.Ernest Lemon, who had briefly held the office ofChief Mechanical Engineer pending the arrival ofWilliam Stanier[23] became Vice-President (Railway traffic, operating and commercial), with separate chief operating and chief commercial managers of equal status reporting to him.[23] Railway operations were directed by Charles Byrom, a veteran officer of theLNWR, while commercial activities were headed by Ashton Davies, formerly of theLancashire and Yorkshire Railway.[23]
Davies created a commercial research section, increased the sales force and provided them with specialist training.[23] The emphasis of the organisation switched from operators dictating what was reasonable to the commercial managers asking what was possible to maximise sales opportunities.[23] Thirty five district managers were appointed to oversee sales through the company's goods depots, passenger stations and key dock facilities.[21] There was even sales representation in theIrish Free State, certain European countries and North America.[21] A monthly newsletter was produced entitledQuota News, and trophies were awarded to the best performing districts and salesmen. To provide maximum capacity during times of peak demand, the operating department re-organised maintenance schedules to maximise the availability oflocomotives androlling stock, and trained staff to step into key roles;firemen trained asdrivers and locomotive cleaners trained to replace firemen.[21]
Numerous special fares were introduced to encourage travel, develop niche markets and overcome competitors. The cheap day return ticket offered return travel at a price usually equivalent to the single fare, although in areas with rival bus services they were sometimes offered at less than the single fare. Companies holding large freight accounts with the LMS received reduced priceseason tickets for nominated employees, while commercial travellers,anglers and conveyors ofracing pigeons were all tempted with special offers.[21]
Passenger miles rose quite dramatically, from a low point of 6,500 million in 1932 to 8,500 million by 1937, while at the same time the number of coaches required was reduced through improved maintenance and more efficient utilisation.[24] In 1938 it opened aSchool of Transport in Derby to train its staff in best railway practice.[25]
The LMS's commercial success in the 1920s resulted in part from the contributions of English painter,Norman Wilkinson.[26] In 1923, Wilkinson advised Superintendent of Advertising and Publicity of the LMS, T.C Jeffrey, to improve rail sales and other LMS services by incorporating fine art into the design of their advertisement posters. In this time, fine art already had a distinguished association in Europe and North America with good taste, longevity and quality.[27] Jeffrey wanted LMS’ commercial image to align with these qualities and therefore accepted Wilkinson's advice.[28] For the first series of posters, Wilkinson personally invited 16 of his fellow alumni from theRoyal Academy of London to take part. In letter correspondence, Wilkinson outlined the details of the LMS proposal to the artists.[29] The artist fee for each participant was £100. The railway poster would measure 50 X 40 inches. In this area, the artist's design would be reproduced as aphotolithographic print on double royal satin paper, filling 45 X 35 inches.[b] The mass-produced posters were pasted inside railway stations in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. LMS decided the subject advertised, but choices of style and approach were left to the artist's discretion. LMS’ open design brief resulted in a collection of posters that reflected the large capacity of destinations and experiences available with the transport organisation.[30] For theIrish Free State, Wilkinson designed a poster in 1927 encouraging the public to avail of the LMS ferry and connecting boat trains to Ireland.[31] For this promotion, Wilkinson's design was accompanied with four posters of Ireland by Belfast modernist painter,Paul Henry. The commercial success of Wilkinson and Jeffrey's collaboration manifested between 1924 and 1928, with public sale of 12,000 railway posters.[31] Paul Henry's 1925 poster depicting the Gaeltacht region of Connemara in County Galway proved most commercially popular, with 1,500 sales.[32]
Charter andexcursion trains were a significant source of revenue and the LMS became a specialist in the movement of large numbers of people, with locomotives and rolling stock often kept in operation just to service such seasonal traffic. In one year, the LMS ran 43 special trains to take spectators to theGrand National atAintree,[21] and a further 55 for theCup Final atWembley.[21] Longer running events demanded operations on a much larger scale, with theGlasgow Empire Exhibition requiring 1,800 special trains,[33] with a further 1,456 run in connection with theBlackpool Illuminations.[33] The number of people moved was huge, with over 2.2 million holidaymakers arriving inBlackpool between the start of July and the end of September alone.[33] Besides these mass-market events, the company also ran regular tourist excursions to a variety of destinations, such asOban in the Scottish highlands,[34]Keswick in the EnglishLake District,[33] and even theFirst World War battlefields inBelgium, by way of theTilbury toDunkerque ferry service and theBelgian railways.[34]
Such was the importance of such excursion traffic that a special department was established in 1929 and oversaw the expansion from 7,500 special trains in that year to nearly 22,000 in 1938.[33]
However important the excursion traffic was, it was the ordinary scheduled services which had to be the focus of efforts to improve the fortunes of the LMS. A number of initiatives were introduced, with the aim of making train travel more attractive and encouraging business growth. Services were accelerated, and better quality rolling stock was introduced and from 24 September 1928sleeping cars were provided for third class ticket holders for the first time.[35] The effect of these improvements was significant, with receipts from passenger traffic increasing by £2.9 million (equivalent to £2,226,910,000 in 2023)[36] between 1932 and 1938.
A number of premium services were offered, culminating in 1937 with the launch of theCoronation Scot,[2] which featured streamlined locomotives hauling a nine coach train of specially constructed stock betweenLondon Euston andGlasgow Central in six and a half hours.[2]
Most other major cities on the network were linked by trains with names which would become famous in railway circles including theThames-Clyde Express[37] betweenLondon St Pancras andGlasgow St Enoch,The Palatine[37] between London St Pancras andManchester Central,The Irish Mail[37] fromLondon Euston toHolyhead and thePines Express[37] conveying portions fromLiverpool andManchester toBournemouth.
Goods accounted for around 60% of LMS revenue,[38] and was even more varied than passenger services, catering for a range of goods from fresh perishables such as milk, fish and meat[39] through to bulk minerals and small consignments sent point to point between individuals and companies.
Particularly notable were theToton–Brent coal trains, which took coal from the Nottinghamshire coalfield to London.[40]
The LMS owned and operated a number of railway works, all of which were inherited from constituent companies. Between them these sites constructed locomotives, coaching stock, multiple units and freight wagons, as well as a number of non-rolling stock items required for the everyday running of the railway.[41]
Two facilities were located in Derby, one known asDerby Loco and one asCarriage and Wagon. The former was opened in the 1840s by theNorth Midland,Midland Counties andBirmingham & Derby railway companies to meet their joint requirements for locomotive, carriage and wagon construction and maintenance. The latter site was opened in the 1860s by theMidland Railway as part of a reorganisation of facilities in Derby and left the original site to concentrate on locomotive manufacture and repair. The Midland Railway also had works atBromsgrove in Worcestershire, which had been inherited from theBirmingham and Gloucester Railway.[citation needed]
TheLNWR also contributed several works sites to the LMS.Crewe Works was opened in 1840 by theGrand Junction Railway and by the time of grouping was the locomotive works for the LNWR.Wolverton works in Buckinghamshire had been established by theLondon and Birmingham Railway in the 1830s, and since 1862 (when all locomotive works had transferred to Crewe) had been the LNWR's carriage works. In 1922, one year prior to the formation of the LMS, the LNWR had absorbed theLancashire and Yorkshire Railway, including their works atHorwich in Lancashire, which had opened in 1886.[42]
St. Rollox railway works, north east of Glasgow, had been built in 1856 by theCaledonian Railway, whileStoke works in Staffordshire were established in 1864 by theNorth Staffordshire Railway. Both were absorbed into the LMS with their parent companies, and while the former became the main workshops for the Northern Division of the LMS, the latter works were wound down, closing in 1930, all work being transferred to nearby Crewe.
Smaller workshop facilities were also transferred to the LMS by other constituent companies, including atBarrow-in-Furness (Furness Railway), Bow (North London Railway),Kilmarnock (Glasgow and South Western Railway) and Inverness (Highland Railway). The table below shows all major works taken over by the LMS upon formation.[43]
| Works | Pre-grouping company | Type | Closed by LMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barassie | G&SWR | Carriage & Wagon | – |
| Barrow-in-Furness | FR | Locomotive | 1930 |
| Bow | NLR | Locomotive | – |
| Bromsgrove | MR | Wagon | – |
| Crewe | LNWR | Locomotive | – |
| Derby Carriage & Wagon | MR | Carriage & Wagon | – |
| Derby Loco | MR | Locomotive | – |
| Earlestown | LNWR | Wagon | – |
| Horwich | LNWR (L&Y) | Locomotive | – |
| Kilmarnock | G&SWR | Locomotive | – |
| Lochgorm (Inverness) | HR | Locomotive, Carriage & Wagon | – |
| Maryport | M&CR | Locomotive | c. 1925 |
| Newton Heath | LNWR (L&Y) | Carriage & Wagon | c. 1932 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | NSR | Locomotive | 1930 |
| St. Rollox | CR | Locomotive, Carriage & Wagon | – |
| Wolverton | LNWR | Carriage | – |
The LMS inherited a wide variety of passenger rolling stock from its constituent companies, and appointed Robert Whyte Reid, an ex-Midland Railway man, as the head of its Carriage department.[44] Reid had already started to introduce more efficient carriage building practices at theDerby Carriage and Wagon Works of the Midland Railway prior to grouping[44] and these same practices were soon introduced to the carriage and wagon works of the former LNWR atWolverton and the L&YR at Newton Heath.[45]
Most railway carriages were constructed by fitting together component parts which had been roughly machined to larger dimensions than required, which were then cut to the required size and joined together by skilled coachbuilders. Reid's new method involved the use of templates or "jigs" to mass-produce components to a set pattern and size. Once these had been checked any example of a specific part could be used interchangeably with any other of the same type. The technique was applied to any item which could be manufactured in large numbers (as there were significant costs in producing the initial jigs) such as doors, ventilators, windows and seats.[46]
The natural progression was to streamline the assembly process and the company introduced a method known as Progressive Construction.[47] In this process the mass-produced parts were combined into "unit assemblies", each of which was a major sub-component of the finished carriage such as side panels, carriage ends or the roof. The workshops were organised on the "flow-line" principle, similar to a modernassembly line, and the unit assemblies were taken to workstations, where the precision machining of the mass-produced parts ensured they all fitted accurately into position, building into a complete carriage as the unit moved along the flow line.[47] The technique was already in use inDerby prior to grouping,[46] and was adopted in Wolverton during 1925, with Newton Heath following two years later.[47] By using this method, the time taken to construct a typical carriage fell from six weeks to six days[47] and by 1931 Derby and Wolverton were able to handle the entire LMS carriage building workload, and production at Newton Heath ceased.[48]
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Each of the constituent companies of the LMS had their own liveries for locomotives and rolling stock. The board of directors of the LMS was dominated by former Midland Railway officers, and the company adopted the "crimson lake" livery for coaching stock as had been used by the Midland and Glasgow & South Western Railways prior to grouping (with the North Staffordshire Railway using a very similar shade). The livery worked well, proving to be hard wearing and practical.[45]
The LMS operated a number of suburban lines using electric traction, in and around London, Liverpool, Manchester and Lancashire.
Schemes in the London area generally used thefour-rail system in use by tube and sub-surface railways (such as theMetropolitan Railway). Lines fromBow toBarking,Euston toWatford Junction,Broad Street toRichmond and a number of related branches and connecting lines were already electrified when the LMS came into existence, although the LMS did extend electrification from Barking toUpminster in 1932.[49]
In the Liverpool area, lines were electrified using athird rail, energised at 630VDC. Routes fromLiverpool Exchange toSouthport andAintree and from Aintree toOrmskirk were already completed prior to the formation of the LMS. Lines fromBirkenhead Park toWest Kirby andNew Brighton were added to this network in 1938.
In Manchester, the line fromBury toManchester Victoria had already been electrified by theLancashire and Yorkshire Railway using a side-contact, third rail system. In conjunction with the LNER, the lines of the formerManchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway were electrified using the 1500 V DCoverhead line system, opening on 11 May 1931.[50]
Finally the route betweenLancaster andHeysham viaMorecambe had been electrified by the Midland Railway using a 6600 VAC overhead system, as early as 1908.[51]
In 1926, the LMS introduced its "all-steel carriage", which represented a significant departure from previous carriage construction. Previously carriages had been built with wood or steel-plated wood bodies, mounted on heavy underframes. The all-steel carriages differed in that they consisted of a steel tube orbox girder, which not only formed the body but also formed the load-bearing part of the carriage, meaning that a heavy underframe was not required.[52] The new technique also meant that the carriages were stronger under collision conditions, as proved during an accident at Dinwoodie – Wamphray[53] on 25 October 1928 when the leading "all-steel" carriage absorbed most of the impact. Construction of the carriages was carried out for the LMS by external companies, largely to provide work for them during a difficult economic period,[52] but within a couple of years the company returned to more conventional construction methods, as it could no longer justify using external contractors due to efficiency improvements within its own workshops, which were set up to produce carriages of more traditional configuration.[52]
The LMS owned many canals, originally acquired by some of its constituent companies in the 19th century, such as the Shropshire Union group (which included theMontgomeryshire Canal,Ellesmere Canal andChester Canal), originally owned by the London & North Western Railway, and theTrent and Mersey Canal, owned by the North Staffordshire Railway. Many were abandoned byAct of Parliament, instigated by LMS,[70] although those surviving in 1948 passed to the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive of theBritish Transport Commission, and eventually to theBritish Waterways Board.
The LMS acquired numerous docks, harbours and piers from its predecessors. These ranged in size from major ports atBarrow-in-Furness andGrangemouth through ferry harbours such asHolyhead,Heysham,Stranraer andFleetwood to much smaller facilities including piers on theThames andClyde.[71] The LMS also inherited steamers and piers from theFurness Railway onWindermere andConiston Water.
Ships inherited from theMidland Railway.[72]
| Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes and references |
|---|---|---|---|
| SS Antrim | 1904 | 2,100[73] | Sold in 1928 to theIsle of Man Steam Packet Company. Scrapped atPreston in November 1936[73] |
| SS City of Belfast | 1893 | 1,055[74] | Bought from Barrow Steam Navigation Co Ltd in 1907. Sold in 1925 to a Greek owner, renamedNicolaos Togias. RenamedKephallina in 1933. |
| SS Duchess of Devonshire | 1897 | 1,265[75] | Sold in 1928 to Bland Line,Gibraltar, renamedGibel Dersa. |
| SS Londonderry | 1904 | 2,086[76] | Sold in 1927 to Angleterre-Lorraine-Alsace, renamedFlamand. Scrapped atAltenwerder, Germany in 1937.[76] |
| SS Wyvern | 1905 | 232[77] | Built as atug, used for pleasure excursions fromHeysham toFleetwood until theSecond World War. Scrapped in 1960. |
The LMS also inherited docks at Goole.[78]
In 1933, along with the other three main line railways, the LMS purchased theHay's Wharf Cartage Company Ltd., the owners ofPickfords, andCarter Paterson. Subsequently, the LMS acquired Joseph Nall & Co. of Manchester and a 51% stake in Wordie & Co. of Glasgow.[78] The LMS operated a road haulage fleet consisting of 29,754 road vehicles.[21]
The LMS Hotels & Catering Service, apart from providing catering cars on trains and refreshment facilities at stations also operated a chain of nearly 30 hotels throughout the United Kingdom. Just prior toWorld War II the department employed 8,000 staff, served over 50 million customers per annum and grossed more than £3 million in receipts (equivalent to £234,940,000 in 2023)[36] from the combined hotel and catering operations. The scale of the undertaking enabled the LMS to claim that they operated the largest chain of hotels in theBritish Empire.[3]
The range of hotels was extensive ranging from large resort and city centre hotels to much smaller provincial establishments. One of the most famous was theMidland Hotel in Morecambe, which had been rebuilt as anArt Deco landmark, as had theQueens Hotel in Leeds. While most were open all year round, a number opened for only particular months in the year, to coincide with local tourist seasons.
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The name of the LMS was revived byGovia in the form of the train operating companyLondon Midland which operated services primarily around theWest Midlands and services north toLiverpool Lime Street and south toLondon Euston between 2007 and 2017.
LMS was trademarked by theDepartment for Transport on 14 November 2017 sparking speculation of the name becoming the long term branding for the newInterCity West Coast Partnership franchise, which is scheduled to commence operations on 8 December 2019, branded asAvanti West Coast.[88][89]
