London, Midland and Scottish railway
LMS crest, carved into the stonework at
Leeds station |
|
| Reporting mark | LMS |
|---|---|
| Locale | England; Northern Ireland; Scotland; Wales |
| Dates of operation | 1 January 1923–31 December 1947 |
| Predecessor | |
| Successor | British Railways |
| Track gauge |
4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) in Northern Ireland |
| Electrification | 600 or 650 V DC third rail 630 V DC third and fourth rail 1,200 V DC side contact third rail 6.6 kV 25 Hz AC overhead |
| Length | 7,790 miles (12,537 km) |
| Headquarters | Euston House, London |
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railways into four. The companies merged into the LMS included the London and North Western Railway, Midland Railway, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (which had previously merged with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922), several Scottish railway companies (including the Caledonian Railway), and numerous other, smaller ventures.
The resulting company was an unwieldy construction, with numerous interests other than railway operation. Besides being the world's largest transport organisation, it was also the largest commercial enterprise in the British Empire and the United Kingdom's second largest employer, after the Post Office. The LMS also claimed to be the largest joint stock organisation in the world.
In 1938, the LMS operated 6,870 miles (11,056 km) of railway (excluding its lines in Northern Ireland), but its profitability was generally disappointing, with a rate of return of only 2.7%. Under the Transport Act 1947, along with the other members of the "Big Four" British railway companies (GWR, LNER and SR), the LMS was nationalised on 1 January 1948, becoming part of the state-owned British Railways.
The LMS was the largest of the Big Four railway companies serving routes in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The Railways 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.
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