The two most important railway companies not possessing lines to London are the North-Eastern and the Lancashire & Yorkshire.
North Eastern (1854, amalgamating a number of systems).—Offices, York. Main line—Leeds, Normanton and York to Darlington, Durham, Newcastle and Berwick-on-Tweed. Connecting with the Great Northern between Doncaster and York, and with the North British at Berwick, it forms part of the “East Coast” route to Scotland. Serving all ports and coast stations from Hull to Berwick, also Carlisle, &c. Owning extensive docks at Hull, Middlesbrough, South Shields, the Hartlepools, Blyth, &c.
Lancashire & Yorkshire (1847, an amalgamation of a number of local systems).—Offices, Manchester. Main line—Manchester, Rochdale, Tormorden, Wakefield and Normanton, with branches to Halifax, Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfield and other centres of the West Riding. Extensive system in south Lancashire, connecting Manchester with Preston and Fleetwood (where the docks and steamship services to Ireland are worked jointly with the London & Northwestern company), Southport, Liverpool, &c.
Among further provincial systems there should be mentioned:—
Cambrian.—Offices, Oswestry. Whitchurch, Oswestry, Welshpool to Barmouth and Pwllheli, Aberystwyth, &c.
Cheshire Lines, worked by a committee representative of the Great Central, Great Northern and Midland Companies, and affording important connexions between the lines of these systems and south Lancashire and Cheshire (Godley, Stockport, Warrington, Liverpool; Manchester and Liverpool; Manchester and Liverpool to Southport; Godley and Manchester to Northwich and Chester, &c.).
Furness.—Offices, Barrow-in-Furness. Carnforth, Barrow, Whitehaven, with branches to Coniston, Windermere (Lakeside), &c. Docks at Barrow.
North Staffordshire.—Offices, Stoke-upon-Trent. Crewe and the Potteries, Macclesfield, &c., to Uttoxeter and Derby.
Cross-Country Connexions.—While London is naturally the principal focal point of the English railway system, the development of through connexions between the chief lines by way of the metropolis is very small. Some through trains are provided between the North-Western and the London, Brighton & South Coast lines via Willesden Junction, Addison Road and Clapham Junction; and a through connexion by way of Ludgate Hill has been arranged between main line trains of the South-Western and the Great Northern railways, but otherwise passengers travelling through London have generally to make their own way from one terminus to another. Certain cross-country routes, however, are provided to connect the systems of some of the companies, among which the following may be noticed.
(1) Through connexions with the continental services from Harwich, and with Yarmouth and other towns of the East coast, are provided from Yorkshire, Lancashire, &c., by way of the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint line from Doncaster and Lincoln to March.