The ''Coronation Scot'' was a named express passenger train of the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

inaugurated in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

for the

coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Elizabeth, as King of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realm, ...

which ran until the start of the war in 1939. It ran on the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

between

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

( Euston station) and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

(

Central station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

), stopping at Carlisle for crew change and to pick up and set down passengers to and from London only. The service was designed to compete with the rival services on the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

, for prestigious London to Scotland traffic. It was scheduled to complete the journey from London to Glasgow in 6 hours 30 minutes.

Locomotives and trains

The

streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady flow, steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the f ...

Coronation Class locomotives were specially developed for the service, and were amongst the most powerful steam locomotives to operate on British railways. On a press run preparatory to the introduction of the service in June 1937, LMS Coronation Class 6220 ''Coronation'', newly built, achieved a speed of 114 miles per hour (183 km/h) near

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

. Three trainsets were formed from existing carriages and given a blue livery similar in colour to that previously used by the Caledonian Railway (the LMS' normal livery was the crimson lake of the former

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

). The first five of the Coronation Class pacifics were also turned out in blue with silver "cheat lines". The ''Coronation Scot'' ran only on weekdays and during summer weekends. Two of the carriage sets were used on other trains; the spare set was kept at LMS's Wolverton Works.

Formation

The train formation was (first class towards London end): * Brake Corridor First (BFK) to 1910 * Corridor First (FK) to D1930 * Restaurant Open First (RFO) to D1902 * Kitchen Car (RK) to D1912 * Open Third (TO) to D1904 * Open Third (TO) to D1904 * Kitchen Car (RK) to D1912 * Open Third (TO) to D1904 * Brake Corridor Third (BTK) to D1905 LMS coaching staff notice ERO 4522590-02 stipulated the formation. Photographic evidence suggests that the sets were turned so that first class always ran at the rear of the train. Sometimes a different formation ran on a Monday after carriages had been used on other services at weekends. All passenger cars were equipped with air-conditioning ventilation, adjustable by individual passengers to give any desired temperature within the provided range.

Music

A popular piece of light orchestral music celebrating this train was composed by Vivian Ellis. This was used as the theme tune for the BBC Radio programme '' Paul Temple''.

References

The following two references cover the carriages; for the engines see the " LMS Princess Coronation Class" article. * David Jenkinson and Bob Essery ''An Illustrated History of LMS Coaching Stock Vol 2'' * Edward Talbot ''The Coronation Scot''

External links

"Duchess of Hamilton" 6229
- re-streamlined Coronation-Class locomotive and carriage at the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum (NRM) is a museum in York, England, forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historical ...

* , illustrated contemporary description of the "Coronation" and "Coronation Scot" *{{YouTube, LiIhAGDe6Gs , "Steam Train - The Coronation Scot - 1937 London Midland & Scottish Railway" Named passenger trains of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Railway services introduced in 1937 Light music compositions

Locomotives and trains

Formation

Music

See also

References

External links