 "Station, Grand Junction Railway, Vauxhall, Birmingham". Engraving by H. Harris, 1841. | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Birmingham,Wolverhampton,Stafford,Crewe |
| Dates of operation | 4 July 1837–1846 |
| Predecessor | Warrington and Newton Railway |
| Successor | London and North Western Railway |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Length | 82 miles (132 km) |
TheGrand Junction Railway (GJR) was an earlyrailway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846. The line built by the company, which opened in 1837, linked theLiverpool and Manchester Railway toBirmingham viaWarrington,Crewe,Stafford andWolverhampton. This was the first trunk railway to be completed in England, and arguably the world's first long-distance railway with steam traction.[i] It terminated atCurzon Street Station in Birmingham, which it shared with theLondon and Birmingham Railway (L&BR), whose adjacent platforms gave an interchange with full connectivity (with through carriages) between Liverpool, Manchester andLondon.
The company merged with its business partners in 1846 to form theLondon and North Western Railway (LNWR). The lines which comprised the GJR now form the central section of theWest Coast Main Line.
| Grand Junction Railway Act 1833 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
.svg) | |
| Long title | An Act for making a Railway from the Warrington and Newton Railway at Warrington in the County of Lancaster to Birmingham in the County of Warwick, to be called the Grand Junction Railway. |
| Citation | 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. xxxiv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 6 May 1833 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Grand Junction Railway Company was established in the second half of 1832 by the consolidation of two rival companies: theBirmingham and Liverpool Railway Company and theLiverpool and Birmingham Railway Company.[1] Authorised by anact of Parliament, theGrand Junction Railway Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. xxxiv), on 6 May 1833[2] and designed byGeorge Stephenson andJoseph Locke, the Grand Junction Railway opened for business on 4 July 1837,[3] running for 82 miles (132 km) fromBirmingham throughWolverhampton (viaPerry Barr andBescot),Stafford,Crewe, andWarrington, then via the existingWarrington and Newton Railway to join theLiverpool and Manchester Railway at a triangular junction atNewton Junction. The GJR established its chief engineering works atCrewe, relocating there fromEdge Hill, in Liverpool.[4]
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It began operation with a temporary Birmingham terminus atVauxhall.[5]: 12 Thetravelling post office where mail was sorted on a moving train was instituted on the Grand Junction Railway in January 1838. Using a converted horse-box, it was carried out at the suggestion of Frederick Karstadt, a General Post Office surveyor.[6] Karstadt's son was one of two mail clerks who did the sorting.[7]
When theLondon and Birmingham Railway opened on 17 September 1838, services were routed to and fromCurzon Street station which it shared with the Grand Junction Railway, the platforms of which were adjacent, providing a link between Liverpool,Manchester andLondon. The route between Curzon Street railway station and Vauxhall primarily consisted of the Birmingham Viaduct. It consisted of 28 arches, each 31 feet (9.4 m) wide and 28 feet (8.5 m) tall and crossed theRiver Rea.[8] In October 1838, theLiverpool Mercury reported that
It is confidently expected, that after the ensuing winter is over, and the embankments on the London and Birmingham Line are well settled down, first class trains between Liverpool and Manchester and London will not occupy more than nine hours in the journey. This being accomplished, what further improvement could be desired between London and Lancashire?[9]
In 1840, the GJR absorbed theChester and Crewe Railway[10] soon before it began operation. Considering itself as part of a grand railway network, the company encouraged the development of theNorth Union Railway which extended the tracks toPreston, and it also invested in theLancaster and Carlisle Railway and theCaledonian Railway. In 1845, the GJR merged with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, and consolidated its position by buying the North Union Railway in association with theManchester and Leeds Railway.[11]
In 1841, the company appointedCaptain Mark Huish as the secretary of the railway. Huish was ruthless in the development of the business and contributed significantly to the company's success.[12]
The GJR was very profitable, paying dividends of at least 10% from its beginning and having a final capital value of more than £5.75 million (equivalent to £703.33 million now)[13] when it merged with theLondon and Birmingham Railway andManchester and Birmingham Railway companies[14] to become theLondon and North Western Railway in 1846, which in turn formed part of theLondon Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923.
One locomotive,Columbine, a2-2-2 tender engine built in 1845 atCrewe Works, is preserved at theScience Museum.[15] Designed byAlexander Allan, it was the first of the GJR's standard'Crewe-type' engines, withoutside cylinders, and carried fleet number 49.[15] It was withdrawn from service in 1902 by the LNWR, carrying their number 1868.[15]
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