1.
Doncaster
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Doncaster, is a large market town in South Yorkshire, England. Together with its suburbs and settlements, the town forms part of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town itself has a population of 109,805, the Doncaster Urban Area had a population of 158,141 in 2011 and includes Doncaster and the neighbouring small village of Bentley as well as some other villages. Possibly inhabited by people, Doncaster grew up at the site of a Roman fort constructed in the 1st century at a crossing of the River Don. The 2nd century Antonine Itinerary and the early 5th century Notitia Dignitatum called this fort Danum, julius Agricola during the late 70s. Doncaster provided a direct land route between Lincoln and York. The main route between Lincoln and York was Ermine Street, which required parties to break into smaller units to cross the Humber in boats, as this was not always practical, the Romans considered Doncaster to be an important staging post. The Roman road through Doncaster appears on two recorded in the Antonine Itinerary. The itinerary include the section of road between Lincoln and York, and list three stations along the route between these two coloniae. Routes 7 and 8 are entitled the route from York to London, several areas of known intense archaeological interest have been identified in the town, although many—in particular St Sepulchre Gate—remain hidden under buildings. The Roman fort is believed to have located on the site that is now covered by St Georges Minster. The Register names the unit as under the command of the Duke of the Britons, Doncaster is generally believed to be the Cair Daun listed as one of the 28 cities of Britain in the 9th century History of the Britons traditionally attributed to Nennius. It was certainly an Anglo-Saxon burh, during which period it received its present name, Don- from the Roman settlement, the settlement was mentioned in the 1003 will of Wulfric Spott. Shortly after the Norman Conquest, Nigel Fossard refortified the town, by the time of the Domesday Book, Hexthorpe in the wapentake of Strafforth was described as having a church and two mills. The historian David Hey says that these represent the settlement at Doncaster. He also suggests that the street name Frenchgate indicates that Fossard invited fellow Normans to trade in the town, as the 13th century approached, Doncaster matured into a busy town, in 1194 King Richard I granted it national recognition with a town charter. Doncaster had a fire in 1204, from which it slowly recovered. At the time, buildings were built of wood, and open fireplaces were used for cooking and heating, in 1248 a charter was granted for Doncaster Market to be held around the Church of St Mary Magdalene, built in Norman times
2.
Listed building
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A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
3.
British Rail Class 55
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The British Rail Class 55 was a class of diesel locomotive built in 1961 and 1962 by English Electric. They were designed for the express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh. They gained the name Deltic from the locomotive, British Railways DP1 DELTIC. The fleet was withdrawn from service between January 1980 and December 1981, three locomotives were retained for a few days, until 2 January 1982, to work the farewell special, all being withdrawn immediately on arrival back at York. Six locomotives entered preservation during 1982 and 1983, one by the National Railway Museum, two cabs were also privately purchased. Additional Deltic engines were produced to enable engines to be exchanged regularly for overhaul while keeping the locomotives in service, the locomotives were assigned to three locomotive depots, Finsbury Park in London, Gateshead over the Tyne from Newcastle, and Haymarket in Edinburgh. They arrived from the manufacturer painted in green, the dark BR green on top, with a narrower strip of a lighter. This helped to disguise the bulk of the locomotive body, the cab window surrounds were picked out in cream-white. Although delivered without it, they all soon sported the yellow warning panel at each end common to all British diesel and electric locomotives. The introduction of the Deltics was a change in locomotive performance on the East Coast Main Line. The recently introduced Class 40 diesels had a maximum drawbar horsepower of 1,450. On one of O. S. Nocks first Deltic runs he states once the tail of the train was over the 60 mph restriction the throttle was opened to the full, never previously had I felt a positive thrust in my back when in the second mans seat. Nock went on to estimate that at 80 mph the locomotive was producing about 2,750 drawbar horsepower. As early as 1963 Deltics were recorded exceeding 100 mph, Nock recording 100 mph for 16 miles south of Thirsk with a maximum of 104 mph, he went on to say that such speeds in 1963 were terrific. As the East Coast Main Line was upgraded, times dropped still further and by the mid 1970s the Flying Scotsman was reaching Edinburgh in 5 hours 30 minutes, still with one stop at Newcastle. The ultimate Deltic performance came on 2 February 1978 with a run on the 07,25 from Newcastle to Kings Cross, in some respects the run was set up but the speeds were record breaking. The locomotive was 55008 The Green Howards, it was hauling 10 coaches and this included various signal stops and other enforced speed reductions, the net time is estimated at 115 min 45 sec, an average of 97 mph start to stop. The train achieved 113 mph on the flat between Darlington and York,114 mph at Offord and 125 mph whilst descending Stoke bank, the Railway Performance Society estimate that on modern infrastructure a realistic Deltic-hauled schedule from Kings Cross to Edinburgh would be around 4 hours 57 minutes
4.
London King's Cross railway station
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Kings Cross railway station, also known as London Kings Cross, is a central London railway terminus on the northern edge of the city. It is one of the busiest railway stations in the United Kingdom, the station was opened in 1852 by the Great Northern Railway in the Kings Cross area to accommodate the East Coast Main Line. It quickly grew to cater for services and was expanded several times in the 19th century. It came under ownership of the London and North Eastern Railway as part of the Big Four grouping in 1923, who introduced famous services such as the Flying Scotsman and Mallard. The station complex was redeveloped in the 1970s, simplifying the layout and providing electric suburban services, in the late 20th century, the area around the station became known for its seedy and downmarket character, and was used as a backdrop for several films as a result. Adjacent to Kings Cross station is St. Pancras International, the London terminus for Eurostar services to continental Europe, beneath both main line stations is Kings Cross St. Pancras on the London Underground, and combined they form one of the countrys largest transport hubs. The Kings Cross fire at the station in 1987 led to improved fire safety standards across the London rail network. The station is located on the London Inner Ring Road at the end of Euston Road, next to the junction with Pentonville Road, Grays Inn Road. To the west, at the side of Pancras Road, is St Pancras railway station. Several London bus routes, including 10,30,59,73,91,205,390,476 pass in front of or at the side of the station, Kings Cross is spelled both with and without an apostrophe. Kings Cross is used in signage at the Network Rail and London Underground stations, on the tube map and it has been used on official maps from Underground companies since 1951 – the apostrophe was used on them only very rarely before then. Kings Cross is used in the National Rail timetable database and other National Rail railway pages, Kings X, Kings + and London KX are abbreviations used in space-limited contexts. The National Rail station code is KGX, the area of Kings Cross was previously a village known as Battle Bridge which was an ancient crossing of the River Fleet, originally known as Broad Ford, later Bradford Bridge. The river flowed along what is now the west side of Pancras Road until it was rerouted underground in 1825, the name Battle Bridge is linked to tradition that this was the site of a major battle between the Romans and the British Iceni tribe led by Boudica. According to folklore, Kings Cross is the site of Boudicas final battle, platforms 9 and 10 have been suggested as possible sites. Boudicas ghost is also reported to haunt passages under the station, Kings Cross station was built in 1851–1852 as the London hub of the Great Northern Railway and terminus of the East Coast main line. It replaced a station next to Maiden Lane that had been quickly constructed with the lines arrival in London in 1850. The station took its name from the area of London, named after a monument to King George IV that was demolished in 1845
5.
York railway station
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York railway station is on the East Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom, serving the city of York, North Yorkshire. It is 188 miles 40 chains down-line from London Kings Cross and its three-letter station code is YRK. Despite the small size of the city, Yorks station is one of the most important on the British railway network because of its role as a key junction approximately halfway between London and Edinburgh, the junction was historically a major site for rolling stock manufacture, maintenance and repair. The first York railway station was a wooden building on Queen Street outside the walls of the city, opened in 1839 by the York. It was succeeded in 1841, inside the walls, by what is now York old railway station and this was the present station, designed by the North Eastern Railway architects Thomas Prosser and William Peachey, which opened in 1877. It had 13 platforms and was at time the largest station in the world. As part of the new project, the Royal Station Hotel, designed by Peachey. In 1909 new platforms were added, and in 1938 the current footbridge was built, the building was heavily bombed during the Second World War. On one occasion, on 29 April 1942,800 passengers had to be evacuated from a Kings Cross-Edinburgh train which arrived during a bombing raid. On the same night, two workers were killed, one being station foreman William Milner, who died after returning to his burning office to collect his first aid kit. He was posthumously awarded the Kings commendation for gallantry, a plaque in his memory has been erected at the station. The station was repaired in 1947. The station was designated as a Grade II* listed building in 1968, the track layout through and around the station was remodelled again in 1988 as part of the resignalling scheme that was carried out prior to the electrification of the ECML shortly afterwards. This resulted in several bay platforms being taken out of service, at the same time a new signalling centre was commissioned on the western side of the station to control the new layout and also take over the function of several other signal boxes on the main line. The IECC here now supervises the line from Temple Hirst through to Northallerton. It has also taken responsibility for the control area of the former power box at Leeds and thus signals trains as far away as Gargrave. In 2006–7, to facilities for bus, taxi and car users as well as pedestrians and cyclists. The former motive power depot and goods station now house the National Railway Museum, Station management transferred from Virgin Trains East Coast to Network Rail on the 30 June 2015
6.
Leeds railway station
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Leeds railway station is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is the third busiest railway station in the UK outside London and it is located on New Station Street to the south of City Square, at the bottom of Park Row, behind the landmark Queens Hotel, it is one of 19 stations managed by Network Rail. Leeds is an important hub on the British rail network, there are also regular inter-city services to major destinations throughout Northern England including Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield. It is also the terminus for trains running on the scenic Settle to Carlisle Line, future expansion will link the station to the proposed High Speed 2 network. Leeds is a hub for local and regional destinations across Yorkshire such as to York, Scarborough, Hull, Doncaster. The station lies at the heart of the Metro commuter network for West Yorkshire providing services to Bradford, Wakefield, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, the railway station is situated on a hill falling from the south of the city to the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal basin. The railway station has 17 platforms, making it the largest by number of platforms in England outside London, there are 11 terminus and six through platforms. Most platforms are subdivided into up to four sections, i. e. 1a, 1b, all together including the numbers, there are 47 platforms. Retail facilities in the station include coffee shops, fast food outlets, a bar, newsagents, chemists, a British Transport Police station on New Station Street houses officers who police the West Yorkshire railway stations. Leeds railway station retained manned ticket barriers through the 1990s until 2008 when they were replaced by automatic barriers by Northern to improve congestion around the barriers at peak times,9,11,12,15,16 – through platforms. CrossCountry services heading north to York and beyond depart from Platforms 9 or 11,7,14 – Bay platforms used for local Northern services running north/east from Leeds. Leeds Interchange, located at the New Station Street exit, provides onward transport connections from the station. There are five bus stands serving Arriva, First and Yorkshire Tiger routes 4,5,16, 16A,19, 19A,40,85,87,90,757,870, a 24-hour taxi rank also operates at the interchange. Further bus stops are located on Neville Street below the railway station, infirmary Street and Boar Lane Bus Points are a short walk for more bus connections. Leeds Interchange hosts one of the UKs first cycle hubs that allows a number of cycling services including repair, storage, the facility opened in summer 2010 and is designed to encourage visitors and commuters into Leeds to continue their journey from the railway station by bike. Its design is based on the Dutch cyclepoint concept, the railways arrived in Leeds in 1834 when the Leeds and Selby Railway opened its line. It had a terminus at Marsh Lane east of the city centre, in 1840, the North Midland Railway constructed its line from Derby via Rotherham to a terminus at Hunslet Lane to the south. It was extended to a more centrally-located terminus at Wellington Street in 1846, another railway station, Leeds Central, was opened in 1854 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway and the London and North Western Railway, or LNWR
7.
Edinburgh Waverley railway station
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Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the principal station serving Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. Waverley station is situated in a steep, narrow valley between the medieval Old Town and the 18th century New Town, Princes Street, the premier shopping street, runs close to its north side. The valley is bridged by the North Bridge, rebuilt in 1897 as an iron and steel bridge. This passes high above the central section, directly over the central booking hall. The valley to the west, formerly the site of the Nor Loch, is the parkland of Princes Street Gardens. Edinburghs Old Town, perched on a sloping ridge, was bounded on the north by a valley in which the Nor Loch had been formed. In the 1750s overcrowding led to proposals to link across this valley to allow development to the north, the noxious lake was to be narrowed into a canal of running water, with a bridge formed across the east end of the loch adjacent to the physic garden. The loch was drained as work on the bridge proceeded, the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway opened in 1842 with its terminus at Haymarket railway station, stopping short of Princes Street. The North Bridge station was opened on 22 June 1846 by the North British Railway as the terminus for its line from Berwick-upon-Tweed. The collective name Waverley, after the Waverley Novels by Sir Walter Scott, was used for the three from around 1854 when the through Waverley route to Carlisle opened. In 1868 the North British Railway acquired the stations of its rivals, the present Victorian station was built on the site, and extended in the late 19th century. Waverley has been in use since, under the auspices of the North British. From its opening in its current form by the eastward tunnelled extension from Haymarket, from 1870 to 1965 the city had a second major station, Princes Street, operated by the rival Caledonian Railway, but this was never as important as Waverley. As at other railway stations of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The North British Hotel, adjacent to the station at the corner between Princes Street and North Bridge opened in 1902, in 1983 British Rail sold it to the Forte hotel group. In 1988 Forte closed the hotel for a year to extensively remodel, when it reopened it was rechristened The New Balmoral Hotel, maintaining the NB initials in what has proved to be an astute marketing move, despite the hotel being 115 miles from Balmoral Castle. Subsequently, New was dropped from the name, the hotel enjoys commanding views over central Edinburgh and is one of the most luxurious hotels in the UK. There is no longer an entrance from the station
8.
Northern (train operating company)
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Northern, the trading name of Arriva Rail North is the primary train operator in Northern England. A subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains, it operating the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016. Northern operates more stations than any other operating company in the United Kingdom. In August 2014, the Department for Transport announced that Abellio, Arriva, in May 2016, the Competition and Markets Authority launched what The Times called an. unprecedented investigation into the transport departments decision to award the Northern Rail network to Arriva. Northern will staff some currently unstaffed stations, the first stations to be staffed will be Baildon and Ben Rhydding, both in West Yorkshire. Northern has committed to introducing free Wi-Fi on trains, and new ticketing options including the ability for customers to print their own tickets, Arriva will provide new services across the North of England. In October 2017, the Cleethorpes to Barton-on-Humber service will transfer to East Midlands Trains. The transfer will include Barrow Haven, Barton upon Humber, Goxhill, Great Coates, Grimsby Docks, Habrough, Healing, New Clee, New Holland, Stallingborough, Thornton Abbey, the routes transferred from the TransPennine franchise will also be part of the Northern Connect network. Northern inherited the stock operated by Northern Rail, namely Class 142,144,150,153,155,156 and 158 diesel multiple units. To operate services transferred from the TransPennine Express franchise, 185s are sublet from that franchise to Northern, Class 37/4 locomotives and Mark 2 carriages are hired from Direct Rail Services until 2017 for Cumbrian Coast line services. Northern will take delivery of 98 Class 195 and Class 331 trains built in Spain by CAF between 2018 and 2020 and they will be a mix of two and three car diesel multiple units and three and four car electric multiple units all based on the Civity UK platform. The units will primarily be deployed on Northern Connect regional express services, the Class 323 units will be returned to leasing company Porterbrook at the end of 2018 when their leases expire. An additional 18 two carriage DMUs are due to join the fleet by December 2022, northerns fleet is maintained at Allerton, Heaton, Newton Heath and Neville Hill depots. The RMT are unhappy about this change, as roles currently undertaken by guards would instead by undertaken by drivers and have called industrial action over the change
9.
Hull Paragon Interchange
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Hull Paragon Interchange is an integrated rail and bus station in the city centre of Kingston upon Hull, England. As well as trains to the west the station was the terminus of the Y&NMR, from the 1860s the station also became the terminus of the Hull and Holderness and Hull and Hornsea railways. At the beginning of the 20th century the North Eastern Railway expanded the trainshed and station to the designs William Bell, installing the present five arched span platform roof. In 1962 a modernist office block Paragon House was installed above the main entrance, replacing a 1900s iron canopy. A bus station was erected adjacent to the north of the station in the mid 1930s, the new station, named Paragon Interchange opened in September 2007, integrating the citys railway and bus stations under William Bells 1900s trainshed. As of October 2016, the station is operated by TransPennine Express. In 1840 the Hull and Selby Railway opened the first railway line into Hull, terminating at a passenger and goods terminal, Manor House Street station, adjacent to the Humber Dock, near the old town. Subsequently, the Hull and Selby entered into working arrangements with the Manchester and Leeds Railway and then the York, in 1846 the York and North Midland and Manchester and Leeds railways began proceedings to create a new terminal station and connecting branch line in Hull. The York and North Midland,1847 act was subsequently passed, the new station had the advantage of being better situated for travellers, and allowed the old station to be used exclusively for freight traffic.5 miles roughly west of the new station. In addition a new connecting chord was made from the Hull and Selby Line, to the Bridlington branch, the station was located on the western edge of the growing Georgian town, and took its name from Paragon Street. Construction contracts had been signed by early 1847, before the bill had been formally passed, the station opened in 1847 without any notable ceremony. The station and hotel were both in the Italian Renaissance style, with both Doric and Ionic order elements, the fascades show inspiration from the courtyard of the Palazzo Farnese. The train shed contained 5 tracks and 2 platforms, each 30 feet, the station site was nearly 2.5 acres. The hotel was in a style to the station, located at the east end of the station with its main fascade. It was completed in 1849 as a three building,9 bays wide, of area 120 by 130 feet. The centre of the building contained a 650 feet square lightwell with ground glass roof, architect for both buildings was G. T. Andrews, and represent his last major commission. By the time of completion of the station hotel George Hudson, chairman of the York, the Hotels official opening ceremony took place on 6 November 1851. Additional facilities at the station included a locomotive house, on the west end of north side of the main shed, a coal depot to the north-west
10.
Bridlington railway station
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Bridlington railway station serves the town of Bridlington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located on the Yorkshire Coast Line and is operated by Northern who provide all train services. The station buffet at Bridlington is one of three original station buffets left in the UK, and provides the prizewinning flower display in the station. The station was opened on 6 October 1846 by the York, an extension northwards to Filey railway station leading to a junction at Seamer railway station connecting with the York to Scarborough Line was opened just over a year later. The original station buildings and platforms were located a few yards to the west of the current station and these consisted of a train shed designed by G T Andrews and similar to his work at Filey and Beverley. Platform 3 was an extension to the scheme and was a bay platform used for many years by the Malton Dodger until the 1950s. Bridlington expanded as a resort at the start of the 20th century largely as a result of the railway, direct trains ran from the industrial heartlands via Selby and Market Weighton in the summer. The new holiday market led to an expansion of the resort. The present concourse and the main platforms date from the 1912 expansion of the station which included Bells wrought iron canopies over the lengthy platforms 5 and 6, a new roofed concourse was built and the new station entrance included the original canopy from the old entrance. After the First World War, excursion platforms were added to cope with the special trains. On summer Saturdays the timetable would include through trains to Leeds, London, the inter-war period saw the greatest extent of the station complete with engine shed and two turntables with extensive sidings. The fine compact Station Buffet was built at this time, after the Second World War, the excursion market continued to thrive until the early 1960s particularly with the opening of Butlins at Filey which had its own station. After the Beeching closures of the Wolds lines excursions continued but the demand weakened, by the 1980s, rationalisation was overdue as many lines in the station were rarely used except on summer weekends. The timetable was changed to create a regular 30-minute clockface service south of Bridlington with fewer trains to Scarborough, a winter Sunday service was introduced south of Bridlington in the late 1980s. Todays station is much changed from the original and is a fragment. The original train sheds were removed and replaced by concrete canopies as at Driffield and these original platforms were taken out of use in March 1983 and subsequently demolished. Platform 8 was reinstated as a siding for a time, todays station has preserved the wide concourse and the sweeping curved platforms of the 1912 extension, and it has many floral displays. The station was designated a Grade II listed building in 2003 and is now recorded in the National Heritage List for England, in July 1958, locomotive No.62703 Hertfordshire ran into the turntable pit and rolled into its side
11.
Scarborough railway station
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Scarborough railway station, formerly Scarborough Central, is a Grade II listed station serving the seaside town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. It lies 42 miles east of York and is one of the termini on the North TransPennine route operated by TransPennine Express. The station is also at the end of the Yorkshire Coast Line. From 1907 until 2010, the approaches were controlled from a 120-lever signal box named Falsgrave. In its final years, Falsgrave box controlled a mixture of colour-light and semaphore signals, the signal box and gantry were dismantled and removed in October 2010. The new signalling is a relay-based interlocking with two- and three-aspect LED signals controlled from an extension to the panel at nearby Seamer. Simplification of the layout and major renewals took place at the same time. Scarborough station opened on Monday 7 July 1845, following the completion of the line from York, all the shops closed, and an estimated ten to fifteen thousand spectators saw the arrival of the first train. The original station building was designed by G. T. Andrews and it had a wrought iron and glazed roof,348 feet long by 88 feet wide in two spans, and 30 feet from the rails. On the opening day, the station was complete, except for the overall roof, the main station building included, a large central booking office, superintendent room, 1st class, 2nd class and Ladies waiting rooms, toilets, porters room, storeroom and refreshment room. Above the refreshment room was originally the station house. At first there were two platforms connected at the end, with four tacks in-between them, each track having a pair of turntables. Gradually as traffic increased modifications were made to the station layout, to accommodate excursion traffic two new platforms were added in 1883, now known as platforms 1 &2. Separate waiting rooms were provided plus more facilities, the station clock was added in about 1884, and was built by Potts of Leeds costing £110. During the 1890s until 1903, goods traffic was moved from the yard to Gallows Close. The original goods shed, which was next to the building became platforms 6 to 9. Trains for the Forge Valley line often used these four platforms, platform 1A was cut out of platform 1 for easier access to the Whitby line. Until 1965, the station served a line from Whitby
12.
East Coast Main Line
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The East Coast Main Line is a 393-mile long railway link between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington and Newcastle, electrified along the whole route. Services north of Edinburgh to Aberdeen and Inverness use diesel trains, the main franchise on the line is operated by Virgin Trains East Coast. The route forms a key artery on the side of Great Britain and is broadly paralleled by the A1 trunk road. It links London, the South East and East Anglia, with Yorkshire and it also carries key commuter flows for the north side of London. It is important to the health of several areas of England and Scotland. It also handles cross-country, commuter and local services. The route has ELRs ECM1 - ECM9, the line was built by three railway companies, each serving their own area, but with the intention of linking up to form the through route that became the East Coast Main Line. In 1923 the three companies were grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway and this later became part of British Railways in 1948. The Selby Diversion was opened in 1983 and diverged from the original ECML at Temple Hirst Junction, north of Doncaster, the ECML has been the backdrop for a number of famous rail journeys and locomotives. The line was worked for years by Pacific locomotives designed by Gresley, including the famous steam locomotives Flying Scotsman. Mallard achieved a record speed for a steam locomotive, at 126 miles per hour. It made the run on the Grantham-to-Peterborough section, on the descent of Stoke Bank, steam locomotives were replaced by Diesel electrics in the early 1960s, when the purpose-built Deltic locomotive was developed by English Electric. The prototype was successful and a fleet of 22 locomotives was built, the Class 55s were powered by two Napier Deltic engines originally developed for fast torpedo boats, with the three crankshaft triangular configuration of the engines giving the Deltic name. Their characteristic throaty exhaust roar and chubby body outline made them unmistakable, the Class 55 was for a time the most powerful diesel locomotive in service in Britain, at 3,300 hp. Just after the Deltics were introduced, the first sections of the East Coast Main Line were upgraded to allow 100 miles per hour running. The first length to be cleared for the new higher speed was a 17 miles stretch between Peterborough and Grantham on 15 June 1965, the second was 12 miles between Grantham and Newark. A prototype of the HST, the Class 41 achieved 143 mph on the line in 1973, a secondary factor was that the signalling technology of the time was insufficient to allow detection of two broken rails on the line on which the train was operating. Locomotives have operated on the ECML at speeds of up to 161.7 mph in test runs. 3A equipment and this included the Hertford Loop Line
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UK Railways portal
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