for other uses see lner disambiguation . london and north eastern railway dates of operation 1 january 1923 31 december 1947 predecessor great eastern railway great central railway great northern railway great north of scotland railway hull and barnsley railway north british railway north eastern railway and others successor eastern region north eastern region scottish region track gauge 4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm length 6 590 miles 10 610 km timetable for autumn 1926 detailing the resumption of services after the general strike the london and north eastern railway lner was the second largest of the big four railway companies created by the railways act 1921 in britain . it operated from 1 january 1923 until nationalisation on 1 january 1948 . at that time it was divided into the new british railways eastern region north eastern region and partially the scottish region . sir ralph wedgwood was the chief officer for its first 16 years . contents 1 formation 2 geographic area 3 accidents and incidents 4 ancillary activities 4.1 ships 5 liveries 6 advertising 7 chief mechanical engineers 7.1 sir nigel gresley 7.2 edward thompson 7.3 arthur h. peppercorn 8 after the second world war 9 cultural activities 10 see also 11 references 11.1 notes 11.2 sources 12 external links formation edit the principal constituents of the lner were great eastern railway great central railway great northern railway great north of scotland railway hull and barnsley railway north british railway north eastern railway the total route mileage was 6 590 miles 10 610 km . the north eastern railway had the largest route mileage 1 757 miles 2 828 km the hull and barnsley railway just 106.5 miles 171.4 km . the lner owned 7 700 locomotives 20 000 coaching vehicles 29 700 freight vehicles 140 items of electric rolling stock 6 electric locomotives and 10 rail motor cars 6 turbine and 36 other steamers and river boats and lake steamers etc. in partnership with the london midland and scottish railway lms the lner was co owner of the midland and great northern joint railway the uk s biggest joint railway much of which competed with the lner s own lines . the m & gnjr was incorporated into the lner in 1936 . in 1933 on the formation of the london passenger transport board the lner acquired the remaining operations of the metropolitan railway company . the lner was the majority partner in the cheshire lines committee and the forth bridge railway company . geographic area edit the lner covered the area north and east of london . it included the east coast main line from london to edinburgh via york and newcastle upon tyne and the routes from edinburgh to aberdeen and inverness . most of the country east of the pennines was within its purview including east anglia . the main workshops were in doncaster with others at darlington inverurie and stratford london . 1 2 the lner inherited four of london s termini fenchurch street ex london and blackwall railway ; 3 king s cross ex great northern railway ; liverpool street ex great eastern railway ; and marylebone ex great central railway . 4 in addition it ran suburban services to broad street london midland and scottish railway and moorgate metropolitan railway later london transport . 5 accidents and incidents edit on 13 february 1923 an express passenger train overran signals at retford nottinghamshire and was in a rear end collision with a freight train . three people were killed . 6 on 23 december 1923 an express passenger train overran signals and was in collision with a light engine at belford northumberland . 7 on 28 july 1924 a passenger train overran signals and collided with another at haymarket station edinburgh lothian . five people were killed . 8 on 12 may 1926 during the general strike an express passenger train was deliberately derailed south of cramlington northumberland . 9 10 11 on 7 august 1926 an electric multiple unit overran signals and was in collision with a freight train at manors station newcastle upon tyne northumberland . the accident was caused by the driver tying down the controller with a handkerchief . when he leant out of the train he struck an overbridge and was killed . the train was able to continue moving until the collision . 12 on 30 august 1926 a passenger train was in collision with a charabanc on a level crossing at naworth cumberland due to errors by the crossing keeper and a lack of interlocking between the signals and gates . nine people are killed . 8 main article hull paragon rail accident on 14 february 1927 two passenger trains were in a head on collision at hull paragon station yorkshire due to a signalman s error . twelve people were killed and 24 were injured . main article penistone rail accidents on 27 february 1927 an express passenger train collided with a light engine at penistone yorkshire due to a signalman s error . 12 on 17 august 1928 a passenger train collided with a lorry on a level crossing at shepreth hertfordshire and was derailed . 13 main article darlington rail crash on 27 june 1928 an excursion train was in a head on collision with a parcels train that was being shunted at darlington county durham . twenty five people were killed and 45 were injured . 14 on 9 june 1929 a steam railcar overran signals and was involved in a collision with an excursion train at marshgate junction doncaster yorkshire . 15 on 4 october 1929 a freight train departed against a danger signal at tottenham london . the train subsequently stopped foul of a junction where the crew abandoned their locomotive . an express passenger train was in a head on collision with it and was derailed . 16 on 17 january 1931 a newspaper train departed from thorpe le soken station essex against signals and was in a head on collision with a light engine at great holland . two people were killed and two were seriously injured . 17 on 27 may 1931 a passenger train overran signals and was in a head on collision with another at fakenham east station norfolk . one person was killed and fifteen were injured . 18 on 8 september 1933 a passenger train was in collision with wagons on the line at bowling west dunbartonshire due to a signalman s error . five people were injured . 19 in november 1934 a class d16 2 locomotive was derailed at wormley hertfordshire when it collided with a lorry on a level crossing . both engine crew were killed . 20 main article welwyn garden city rail crashes on 15 june 1935 an express passenger train was in a rear end collision with another at welwyn garden city hertfordshire due to a signalman s error . fourteen people were killed and 29 were injured . on 15 february 1937 a passenger train was derailed at sleaford north junction lincolnshire due to excessive speed on a curve . four people were killed and sixteen were injured one seriously . 21 on 15 february 1937 a freight train was derailed at upton sleaford due to excessive speed on a curve . the train had been diverted due to the earlier derailment . 22 on 6 march 1937 a passenger train was derailed at langrick lincolnshire due to the poor condition of the track . 21 on 13 june 1937 an excursion train overran signals and was derailed by trap points south of durham . nine people were injured . 23 on 26 january 1939 an empty fish train was involved in a rear end collision with a passenger train at hatfield hertfordshire . 24 on 1 june 1939 a passenger train collided with a lorry on an occupation crossing at hilgay norfolk and was derailed . 25 on 8 june 1939 a passenger train departed from manchester central station lancashire against a danger signal and collided with another passenger train . several people were injured . 26 on 10 february 1941 an express passenger train overran signals and was in a rear end collision with a passenger train at harold wood essex . seven people were killed and seventeen were seriously injured . 27 on 28 april 1941 a fire broke out on an express passenger train which was brought to a stand at westborough lincolnshire . the rear three carriages were burnt out . six people were killed and seven were injured . 28 29 among those killed were the two eldest children of hubert pierlot the prime minister of the belgian government in exile . 30 main article soham rail disaster on 2 june 1944 wd austerity 2 8 0 locomotive no. 7337 was hauling a freight train which caught fire as it approached soham cambridgeshire . the train comprised wagons carrying bombs . the train was divided behind the burning wagon with the front portion being taken forward with the intention of isolating the wagon in open countryside . its cargo detonated at soham station killing the driver and the soham signalman and injuring the trains fireman and guard . soham station was severely damaged but the line was re opened within eighteen hours . for their actions benjamin gimbert and james nightall were awarded george crosses . in july 1944 a passenger train was derailed at pannal junction by points that were half open . 31 on 5 january 1946 a freight train became divided on the east coast main line in county durham . the front section was brought to a stand but the rear section crashed into it . the wreckage fouled signal cables giving a false clear signal to a passenger train on the opposite line . this then crashed into the wreckage . ten people were killed . 31 32 main article potters bar rail accidents on 10 february 1946 a passenger train crashed at potters bar hertfordshire due to a signalman s error . the wreckage fouled signal cables giving a false clear to an express passenger train which then ran into the wreckage . a third passenger train then collided with the wreckage . two people were killed . 33 on 2 january 1947 a passenger train overran signals and was in a rear end collision with another passenger train at gidea park essex . seven people were killed 45 were hospitalised . 34 on 9 august 1947 a passenger train was in a rear end collision with another at darlington county durham due to a signalman s error . twenty one people were killed and 188 were injured . 35 main article goswick rail crash on 26 october 1947 an express passenger train was derailed at goswick northumberland due to excessive speed on a crossover . twenty eight people were killed and 65 were injured . ancillary activities edit the lner inherited 8 canals including the ashton chesterfield macclesfield nottingham & grantham peak forest docks and harbours in 20 locations including grimsby hartlepool hull immingham middlesbrough some eastern scottish ports harwich lowestoft and london other wharves staithes piers 2 electric tramways 23 hotels 20 of them were nationalised in 1948 as british transport hotels . of the other three 36 cruden bay hotel was requisitioned in 1940 palace hotel aberdeen caught fire in 1941 and the yarborough hotel new holland was sold being advertised for sale in 1947 . 37 a 49 % stake in the haulage firm mutter howey & co. ltd. 1 it took shares in a large number of bus companies including for a time a majority stake in united automobile services ltd. in halifax and sheffield it participated in joint omnibus committees with the lms and the corporation . 1 in 1935 with the lms wilson line of hull and others it formed the shipping company associated humber lines ltd. 1 in 1938 it was