The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) was formed in 1846 by the merger of three railway companies - the Grand Junction Railway, London and Birmingham and Manchester and Birmingham. It was known as the 'Premier Line' - though disputed by many it may be thought that it deserved this title as the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the first passenger railway in the world, was one of its ancestors (through its merger with the Grand Junction Railway). As the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom, it collected a greater revenue than any other company. It served some of Britain’s largest cities, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester and (through co-operation with the Caledonian Railway) Edinburgh and Glasgow. It also handled the Irish Mail for the Government between Euston and Holyhead.
The LNWR formed a major constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) railway when the railways of Great Britain were merged in the grouping of 1923.
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The name of the London and North Western Railway Company was revived in 1988 by the pop music impresario Pete Waterman for his rail vehicle maintenance company. Based at Crewe, the company was originally located adjacent to the Railway Age heritage site -- this location is now used for the company's steam railway engineering business. Subsequently the company took over the Crewe South carriage shed, where the company has a diesel locomotive maintenance depot together with a carriage and general rolling stock repair facility and paint shop.
