London & North Western Railway

The Premier Line - or so enthusiasts would have you believe. Formed in 1846 this railway grew into probably the largest railway company in UK. It had the first main line from London to the North West and ran fast and comfortable services. The Company had two divisions, Northern and Southern, each having a different livery. The Southern Division locomotives were dark green (not unlike GWR Brunswick green) for a while but soon adopted what is described as a "bright vermilion red", while the Northern Division stayed with dark green. The divisions were united in 1861 and shortly afterwards the well known black locomotives appeared. The definitive book, in my view, is the HMRS publication "LNWR Liveries" which will tell you everything you will need to know about the subject. When I produced the first illustration of an LNWR locomotive I was surprised at how good it looked. (that is not self praise). Black locos ? What's new ? But the combination of the lustrous black finish together with the light grey and red lining gives a wonderful effect. I know that the livery on No 2053 is a little OTT but I could not resist it - I might even do "Queen Empress" in white as well !!