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

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 Fe ...

for the

coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Wednesday 12 May 1937. ...

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, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

between

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(

Euston station Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...

) and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

(

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 London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

, 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

6229 DUCHESS OF HAMILTON National Railway Museum (5)

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. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the framework of ...

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. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

. Three trainsets were formed from existing carriages and given a blue livery similar in colour to that previously used by the

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...

(the LMS' normal livery was the

crimson lake Carmine ()also called cochineal (when it is extracted from the cochineal insect), cochineal extract, crimson lake, or carmine lake is a pigment of a bright-red color obtained from the aluminium complex derived from carminic acid. Specific code n ...

of the former

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 ...

). 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 Vivian John Herman Ellis, CBE (29 October 1903 – 19 June 1996) was an English musical comedy composer best known for the song "Spread a Little Happiness" and the theme " Coronation Scot". Life and work Ellis was born in Hampstead, London in 1 ...

. This was used as the theme tune for the BBC Radio programme ''

Paul Temple Paul Temple is a fictional character created by English writer Francis Durbridge. Temple is a professional author of crime fiction and an amateur private detective. With his wife Louise, affectionately known as 'Steve' in reference to her jo ...

''.

References

The following two references cover the carriages; for the engines see the "

LMS Princess Coronation Class The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Coronation Class is a class of express passenger steam locomotives designed by William Stanier. They were an enlarged and improved version of his previous design, the LMS Princess Royal Class, a ...

" article. *

David Jenkinson David Jenkinson (6 August 1934 – 27 April 2004) was a railway modeller and historian, who had a particular interest in the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and was president of the LMS Society. Biography Jenkinson was born in Le ...

and

Bob Essery Robert J. "Bob" Essery (22 November 1930 – 23 November 2021) was a British railway modeller and historian with a particular interest in the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and one of its principal constituents, the Midland Railway (MR) ...

''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 is a museum in York 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 historically significant r ...

* , 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