The East Coast Joint Stock (ECJS) was a fleet of passenger railway coaches in the UK jointly owned by the Great Northern Railway (GNR), the North Eastern Railway (NER) and the North British Railway (NBR). These were the main operators of the East Coast Main Line prior to the creation of the London and North Eastern Railway at

grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

in 1923. The GNR, NER and NBR, together with the

Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament on 4 July 1838. It was opened to passenger traffic on 21 February 1842, between its Glasgow Queen Street railway station (sometimes referred to at first as Dundas Street) and ...

and the

Scottish Central Railway The Scottish Central Railway was formed in 1845 to link Perth and Stirling to Central Scotland, by building a railway line to join the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway near Castlecary. The line opened in 1848 including a branch to South Alloa. T ...

, which between them owned the railway lines connecting London (King's Cross) and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

via , and

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

came to an agreement in November 1855 regarding "the East Coast Route" and how the traffic over that route was to be obtained and shared. At first, the carriages used for the through services were provided by the different companies, but in 1860 representatives of the GNR, NER and NBR met to agree the setting up of "a common East Coast stock of passenger carriages", which was finalised in August–September 1860. There were to be fifty carriages, costing a total of £13,450, to be apportioned according to the respective mileages of the companies which operated the London-Edinburgh services: GNR £6,425; NER £5,080; NBR £1,945. The ECJS was set up in 1861 when it comprised 50 coaches; there were 63 in 1865, and 89 in 1873. On 21 May 1872, 36 coaches were allocated to services running between London (King's Cross) and Edinburgh (Waverley); 17 to services between London and Glasgow (Queen Street); and 24 to services between London and Aberdeen.

Preservation

A number of former ECJS vehicles remain extant on various heritage railways and at the NRM, some being over 100 years old. These include: Dining Car no. 189, built in 1894, withdrawn in 1927 and transferred to departmental use, which is now owned by the London and North Eastern Coach Association (LNERCA) and located at the

North Yorkshire Moors Railway The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by Geor ...

; three vehicles from the Royal Train, built in 1908 and which are now part of the National Collection: the two Royal Saloons – no. 395 (built for the use of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

) and no. 396 (for the use of

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 t ...

and Princess Victoria) – both of which had been withdrawn in 1978; and brake van no. 109 (originally no. 82), which had run until 1961.

References

External links

An image of the ECJS crest
British joint railway companies Railway coaches of the United Kingdom {{UK-rail-transport-stub