Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)

Great Northern Railway

1920 map of the railway
Great Northern Railway express locomotive (type GNR Stirling 4-2-2).
Overview
Headquarters	King's Cross
Locale	England
Dates of operation	1848–1922
Successor	London and North Eastern Railway
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	1,053 miles 54 chains (1,695.7 km) (1919)[1]
Track length	3,109 miles 45 chains (5,004.4 km) (1919)[1]

v t e Great Northern Railway
Legend
Main Line
mi 188 York 184 Naburn 181 Escrick 179 Riccall 175 Selby 170 Temple Hirst 168 Heck 166 Balne 163 Moss ↑ North Eastern Railway 160 Joan Croft Halt 158 Arksey 156 Doncaster 151 Rossington 148 Bawtry 146 Scrooby 144 Ranskill 142 Barnby Moor and Sutton 138 Retford 132 Tuxford North 131 Dukeries Junction 127 Crow Park 126 Carlton on Trent 120 Newark North Gate 116 Claypole 112 Hougham 110 Barkston 105 Grantham 102 Great Ponton 97 Corby Glen 93 Little Bytham 89 Essendine 85 Tallington 76 Peterborough North See below for detail south of Peterborough 59 Huntingdon 32 Hitchin 0 London King's Cross mi
Southern area as of 1921 to York Peterborough North Yaxley and Farcet Ramsey St. Mary's Holme Abbots Ripton Huntingdon Cambridge (GER) Offord and Buckden Harston (GER) St Neots Foxton (GER) Tempsford Shepreth Sandy Meldreth Biggleswade Royston Arlesey & Shefford Road Ashwell & Morden Three Counties Baldock Dunstable Church Street Letchworth Garden City Luton Bute Street Hitchin Luton Hoo Stevenage Harpenden later LNER Hertford Loop Wheathampstead St Albans Ayot Hill End Hertford Cowbridge Smallford Hertingfordbury Nast Hyde Halt Cole Green Knebworth Attimore Hall Halt Welwyn Cuffley & Goff's Oak Crews Hill Hatfield Gordon Hill Potters Bar Enfield Hadley Wood Grange Park New Barnet Winchmore Hill Oakleigh Park Palmers Green Edgware High Barnet The Hale Totteridge Mill Hill Woodside Park Bowes Park Finchley (Church End) Alexandra Palace East Finchley Muswell Hill Cranley Gardens New Southgate branch transferred to Northern line Highgate Wood Green to CCE&HR Hornsey Crouch End Harringay Stroud Green Finsbury Park North London Railway Holloway and Caledonian Road King's Cross York Road Canonbury (NLR) London King's Cross Mildmay Park (NLR) (MET) Farringdon Dalston Junction (NLR) Snow Hill Tunnel Broad Street (NLR) (SE&CR) Snow Hill Aldersgate (MET) to Chatham & Dover Moorgate Street (MET)

The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was a British railway company incorporated in 1846 with the object of building a line from London to York. It quickly saw that seizing control of territory was key to development, and it acquired, or took leases of, many local railways, whether actually built or not. In so doing, it overextended itself financially.

Nevertheless, it succeeded in reaching into the coalfields of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire, as well as establishing dominance in Lincolnshire and north London. Bringing coal south to London was dominant, but general agricultural business, and short- and long-distance passenger traffic, were important activities too. Its fast passenger express trains captured the public imagination, and its Chief Mechanical Engineer Nigel Gresley became a celebrity.

Anglo-Scottish travel on the East Coast Main Line became commercially important; the GNR controlled the line from London to Doncaster and allied itself with the North Eastern Railway and the North British Railway so as to offer seamless travel facilities.

The main line railways of Great Britain were "grouped" following the Railways Act 1921 into one or other of four new larger concerns. The Great Northern Railway was a constituent of the London and North Eastern Railway, which took control at the beginning of 1923. Although many local lines have been closed, much of the network is active today.