The construction of a rail link between London and Birmingham was first mooted in 1823 by John Rennie, who surveyed the route via Oxford and Banbury. Over the next two decades two rival schemes emerged to build the railway, over the two factions joined together and called on George Stephenson to adjudicate over the best route. Stephenson and his son Robert were prevailed on to act as engineers for the venture. Facing stiff opposition from landowners the Bill was presented to Parliament in 1832, it failed on its first attempt to pass but was successful the following year after an appropriate amount of compensation was offered to landowners affected by the line's construction.
The London & Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was 112 miles long and was reckoned to be some of the largest civil engineering works at the time. In addition to the scale of the project, the civil engineers' also encountered several technical challenges in the course of its construction, notably at Kilsby Tunnel, the Tring cutting and Wolverton embankment amongst others.
Multiple connecting railways were proposed during the L&BR's construction as a nascent national rail network began to be posited and the L&BR emerged as a trunk line. The line opened in sections from London with the first section from London to Tring opening on 1 January 1838, with the final section from Rugby to Denbigh Hall opening on 17 September 1838, previously a rail replacement coach was used on this section.
The London terminus was located at Euston, which included the imposing Doric Arch and the world's first railway hotel. Until 1844, the section from Euston to Camden was hauled by stationary engine due to the gradient. The Birmingham terminus was located at Curzon Street and the Principal Building was completed in complementary neo-classical style.
The railway proved to be financially successful and came to absorb other lines. In 1846 the L&BR merged with Manchester and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway to form the London and North Western Railway, connecting London with Birmingham, Crewe, Chester, Liverpool and Manchester.
The London & North Western Railway Co (LNWR) was established in 1846 following the amalgamation of the London & Birmingham, Manchester & Birmingham and Grand Junction Railways. The new company was the largest joint stock company in Britain, and initially had a network of approximately 350 miles (560 km) connecting London with Birmingham, Crewe, Chester, Liverpool and Manchester.
The LNWR continued to expand and by 1868 the company had added links to Oxford, Cambridge, Leeds, Swansea and Cardiff. However, attempts to amalgamate with Midland Railway ended in failure. By 1871 the London & North Western Railway employed 15,000 people. As part of the 1923 Grouping the LNWR became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) Railway.
Date
1837- c 1850
Scope and ContentCivil engineering and architectural drawings for Curzon Street Station, the Birmingham terminus of the London & Birmingham Railway (L&BR) including drawings relating to the original construction contract and to subsequent site developments. Some drawings are signed by Philip Hardwick, the L&BR's architect and Robert Stephenson who was the railway's engineer. Around half of the drawings were created by Grissell & Peto, civil engineering contractors, and later drawings bear the stamp of the London & North Western Railway, which the L&BR was amalagmated into in 1846.
Robert Stephenson (1803–1859) was a railway and civil engineer born on 16 October 1803 at Willington Quay, near Newcastle upon Tyne, the only son of George Stephenson (1781–1848), colliery and railway engineer.
He was educated at Bruce's academy at Newcastle upon Tyne. On leaving school in 1819 Stephenson was apprenticed to Nicholas Wood, viewer of Killingworth colliery. In 1821 he assisted his father in the survey of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and then in 1822 spent six months studying natural philosophy, chemistry, and natural history at Edinburgh University. On leaving Edinburgh, Stephenson settled in Newcastle upon Tyne to manage Robert Stephenson & Co at Forth Banks Works, the locomotive building establishment which his father had founded there in 1823 to build stationary and locomotive engines.
The locomotive ‘Rocket’ was built under his direction and went on to win the Rainhill locomotive trials, held in October 1829, to determine the best means of propulsion on the Liverpool and Manchester line. He was responsible for surveying the line of the proposed London and Birmingham Railway and was appointed Chief Engineer. The railway was the world's first intercity passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for
most of the distance solely by steam locomotives
From 1838 until the end of his life he was engaged on railway work, not only in Great Britain, but all over the world; railways were constructed either under his own direct supervision or under his advice which later became the trunk lines of the countries in which they were laid down. Stephenson’s designs became the dominant type of locomotive in Great Britain. Notable among Stephenson locomotives was the long-boilered engine in which all wheels were placed ahead of the firebox so that there was no restriction on its size. Unsuitable for main line express service, the
type was remarkably successful in the carriage of heavy freight where a reservoir ofsteaming capacity could be used with advantage.
Stephenson was also successful at bridge building, he built the high-level bridge over the Tyne at Newcastle, the Royal Border Bridge at Berwick and the Britannia Bridge over the Conwy and the Menai Strait. Stephenson also proposed the great Victoria Bridge over the St Lawrence River at Montreal, which was begun in 1854 and
completed in 1859 after his death.
On 30 July 1847 Stephenson was elected MP for Whitby. He represented the town until his death.
He died at his home at 34 Gloucester Square, London, on 12 October 1859 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Conditions governing accessAccess is given in accordance with the NRM access policy. Material from this collection is available to researchers through Search Engine.
Conditions governing ReproductionCopies may be supplied of items in the collection, provided that the copying process used does not damage the item or is not detrimental to its preservation. Copies will be supplied in accordance with the NRM’s terms and conditions for the supply and reproduction of copies, and the provisions of any relevant copyright legislation.
System of arrangementThe drawings appear to derive from two sources and seem to be part of two different sequence of drawings. The first half of the drawings are arranged in drawing number order, the second half follow the order that the drawings were put onto the Museum of British Transport and the National Railway's inventories, rather than the origiinal drawing number order. The archive references are constructed
It was not possible to locate a smalll number of drawings in this collection, therefore they have not been catalogued so there are gaps in the sequence of archive references, if located these will be added into the catalogue. One drawing (CZNST/25) is missing but has been scanned, access to this item is only to the digital surrogate.
