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The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway. The line built by the company was the first trunk railway to be completed in England, and arguably the world's first long-distance railway with steam traction.〔The very first long distance railway had been the horse drawn line between České Budějovice in Bohemia, Linz, and Gmunden (Upper Austria).〕 Presently, the lines which comprised the GJR form the central section of the West Coast Main Line. ==History== The Grand Junction Railway Company was established in the second half of 1832 by the consolidation of two rival companies: the Birmingham and Liverpool Railway Company and the Liverpool and Birmingham Railway Company. Authorised by Parliament in 1833 and designed by George Stephenson and Joseph Locke, the Grand Junction Railway opened for business on 4 July 1837, running for from Birmingham through Wolverhampton (via Perry Barr and Bescot), Stafford, Crewe, and Warrington, then via the existing Warrington and Newton Railway to join the Liverpool and Manchester Railway at a triangular junction at Newton Junction. The GJR established its chief engineering works at Crewe, relocating there from Edge Hill, in Liverpool. Soon after beginning operation with a temporary Birmingham terminus at Vauxhall, services were routed to and from Curzon Street station, which it shared with the London and Birmingham Railway (LBR) the platforms of which were adjacent, providing a link between Liverpool, Manchester and London. The route between Curzon Street station and Vauxhall primarily consisted of the Birmingham Viaduct. It consisted of 28 arches, each wide and tall and crossed the River Rea. In 1840 the GJR absorbed the ''Chester and Crewe Railway'' soon before it began operation. Considering itself as part of a grand railway network, the company encouraged the development of the ''North Union Railway'' which extended the tracks onward to Preston, and it also invested in the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway and the Caledonian Railway. In 1845 the GJR merged with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, and consolidated its position by buying the North Union Railway in association with the Manchester and Leeds Railway. In 1841 the company appointed Captain Mark Huish as the Secretary of the railway. Huish was ruthless in the development of the business and contributed significantly to the Company's success.〔Mark Huish and the London and North Western Railway, A Study of Management - Dr Terry Gourvish (Leicester UP, 1972);〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Grand Junction Railway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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