At the start of the last century, Liverpool and Manchester were supremely self-confident cities, part of a genuine Northern Powerhouse that owed little to London. They had been linked by the first inter-city railway in the world, built with local capital. The April 1910 Bradshaw’s guide showed the importance of the two cities and the intense competition between the railway companies serving them. The London & North Western, the Lancashire & Yorkshire and the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) each ran fast hourly services, each serving different pairs of stations, with trains on the first two routes taking only 40 minutes; the CLC trains, via Warrington, were slightly slower, generally taking 45 minutes.
There is an interesting comparison with Scotland’s two great cities. The North British and the Caledonian each ran some fast trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow, but neither offered an hourly service, and the trains were slightly slower, with the fastest timings taking 65-70 minutes.
There is an interesting comparison with Scotland’s two great cities. The North British and the Caledonian each ran some fast trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow, but neither offered an hourly service, and the train…
