The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway was authorised on 6 June 1844. It originated when in 1839 government commissioners were appointed to choose between east and west coast routes to Scotland and advocated both. Between Lancaster and Carlisle was the most easterly of three alternatives was selected, the four existing west coast companies made substantial contributions to the Lancaster and Carlisle’s capital of £900, 000. The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway was engineered by Joseph Locke with Thomas Brassey as Contactor. In 1859 the company leased itself to the London North Western Railway and in 1879 it was acquired outright by them.

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.

Joseph Locke was born at Attercliffe, near Sheffield, on 9 August 1805. Following an education at Barnsley grammar school, in 1823 he was apprenticed to George Stephenson as a pupil engineer. He continued to work for Stephenson after his apprenticeship ended, and was appointed as one of Stephenson's assistants in the construction of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Locke went on to work with Stephenson on the first trunk railway line, the Grand Junction Railway between Birmingham and Warrington. Locke's work on the survey impressed the Grand Junction Railway's directors who offered him the job of building the line. This caused friction in Locke's relationship with Stephenson, and a compromise of dividing work on the line between the two men was agreed. After Stephenson left the project in August 1835, Locke took sole control of the construction of the line. Locke's work on the Grand Junction established his reputation for good engineering combined with economy and speed of construction. His other work included the construction of the main line from London to Southampton (1836–40), the line between Sheffield and Manchester (1838–40) and the Greenock, Paisley, and Glasgow line (1837–41). In 1840, Locke formed a partnership with John Edward Errington, with whom he constructed lines in Lancashire and Scotland. Locke moved to the manor of Honiton, Devon in 1847, and was Liberal MP for the borough of Honiton from 1847 until his death. Locke died suddenly at Moffat, near Dumfries, Scotland, on 18 September 1860.