George Dow (30 June 1907 – 28 January 1987) was an employee of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) 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 th ...

(LNER) and

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

known for his public relations work and railway maps produced for his employers, and also a writer of railway literature, in particular his three-volume history of the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...

Biography

George Dow joined

(LNER) as a grade five clerk at Kings Cross railway station in London, England. He held many offices on the LNER (particularly as Press Relations Officer throughout the Second World War) and

. He is perhaps best known as a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

for his

diagrammatic A diagram is a symbolic representation of information using visualization techniques. Diagrams have been used since prehistoric times on walls of caves, but became more prevalent during the Enlightenment. Sometimes, the technique uses a three- ...

railway maps for the LNER and

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 LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

and as an inspiration to the celebrated designer

Harry Beck Henry Charles Beck (4 June 190218 September 1974) was an English technical draughtsman who created the present London Underground Tube map in 1931. Beck drew the diagram after being fired at the London Metro Signal Office. Although his design ...

on the

tube map The Tube map (sometimes called the London Underground map) is a schematic A schematic, or schematic diagram, is a designed representation of the elements of a system using abstract, graphic symbols rather than realistic pictures. A schematic ...

. Their work led to a style of design which has revolutionised the world of

urban rail and metro maps A transit map is a topological map in the form of a schematic diagram used to illustrate the routes and stations within a public transport system—whether this be bus, tram, rapid transit, commuter rail or ferry routes. The main components are ...

. On the creation of British Railways in 1948, he was appointed Public Relations and Publicity Officer for the

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and North Eastern Regions. In 1949 he took the same post at the larger

London Midland Region The London Midland Region (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways (BR), and initially consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) lines in England, Wales and Northern Irelan ...

. He rose to Divisional Manager, Birmingham, and later

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

, and retired in 1968. He also wrote twenty-one railway histories, starting with studies for the LNER, and later including his three-volume history of the

and a two-volume work on the carriages of the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 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 its headquarters. It am ...

. He was the founding President of the Model Engineering Trade Association in 1944, and of the

Historical Model Railway Society The Historical Model Railway Society (HMRS) is a British charitable society which supports railway modellers in creating historically accurate models. To this end it collects, preserves and makes available documents, drawings, photographs and oth ...

in 1950. He died on 28 January 1987 aged 79 years.

Bibliography

* * , 3 Volumes ** ** ** Republished by Ian Allan 1985: Vol.1 ; Vol.2 ; Vol.3 A fuller bibliography is given in:

References

Biographical material

* * *

Biography

Bibliography

References

Biographical material

Further reading