Cross Country

[CVR1865]

I was pondering recently, what was the practice in LNER days for providing cross country routes? Did you set off from say Newcastle and travel toward the south or west coast as far as the LNER could take you and then dismount and change trains, or perhaps there were dedicated trains particularly during the summer. Would they have run all the way through or just changed locos at a given point? allowing local crews to take the train on routes they knew best?

Many thanks for any help in advance.
Simon

[9E]

Assuming that you are thinking of express services rather than cross-country stopping services then were these existed they either remained entirely on LNER metals (such as the Liverpool-Harwich boat trains which used CLC and ex-GC and ex-GE metals only) or where they involved other company's routes there were often arrangements with another company. Examples include Liverpool-Newcastle services which were jointly run with the LMS (I think stock provision was shared between the two and certainly LNER stock worked through to Liverpool). Locos were changed at Leeds City with LNER locos giving way to LMS for the run to Liverpool over ex-LNWR metals and vice versa.

Many of these types of arrangement started in pre-Grouping days, for example the Great Central Railway (and later LNER) operated Swindon-York services in tandem with the GWR; GW and GC section stock being used on alternate days. These operating distinctions lasted well into BR days with loco changes near regional boundaries. That didn't stop "foreign" locos making it further afield especially into the '60s e.g. Bournemouth-Leeds/York services featured WR locos running through to Leicester Central (and later Nottingham Victoria following Leicester sheds closure) before giving way to an LMR loco (The GC London extension being part of the London Midland by that time).

[Pyewipe Junction]

This is quite a wide topic! I can't venture an opinion regarding LNER practice, but consulting the summer 1948 ER timetable reveals at least the following:

Liverpool-Harwich (as noted by 9E); York-Yarmouth; Newcastle-Colchester (all these came through Lincoln) and various ex-LMR trains to Norwich and Yarmouth via the M&GNR. From early BR days there was also a through train from Cleethorpes to Birmingham (Bournemouth on summer Saturdays) via Lincoln St Marks.

But the biggest conduit of all was the GC main line from Sheffield to Woodford, which was used for a host of trains originating in the North and North-East and going to the South and South-West.

On top of all that you've got the NER trains - Hull to Manchester and Darlington to Blackpool via Kirkby Stephen to name just two. (Someone else will have to expand on these.)

But the simple answer to your question would appear to be: 'yes' there were plenty of LNER cross-country trains and 'yes' they had through carriages.

[CVR1865]

That's all brillliant, thanks very much.
Simon