LONDON MIDLAND AND SCOTTISH RAILWAY, British railway company, was formed on Jan. 1, 1923, by amal gamation, under the Railways Act of 1921, of the London and North Western, Midland, Lancashire and Yorkshire, Caledonian. and Glasgow and South Western and other railway companies. The system includes the Liverpool and Manchester Railway upon which in 1829 the famous "Rocket" demonstrated the practicabil ity of the steam locomotive and originated the modern railway. The capital expenditure of the Company amounts to 446 million pounds and it owns 7,55o miles of line, the total length of track including sidings being 20,300 miles, serving 5,600 stations and connections with private sidings of traders. Its working stock includes 10,200 locomotives, 28,000 carriages and 328,00o wagons, and on road services it employs 1,60o motor vehicles and horses with 18,900 vehicles. Other assets include 68 steamers, 31 docks with quays upwards of i oo,000 feet in length, 549 miles of canals and 37 hotels. Extending from London by two main lines through the industrial area of England to the extreme north of Scotland it is the largest of the British rail ways, and in 1927 carried 48o million passengers, 153 million tons of goods and i i million head of live stock, representing 7,600 million passenger miles and 7,900 million ton miles. The net
revenue from all sources in 1927 amounted to 17 million pounds, and this distributed to 305,000 stockholders represented an aver age return of 4.03% upon the capital invested by them. The number of employees of all grades was 268,000 in 1927, their remuneration being 48 million pounds.
Recent developments include a comprehensive system of rail head distribution of bulk consignments of goods, the provision of containers for rail and road services to avoid packing and handling of goods, and the inauguration through a French com pany of a daily service of steamers in connection with the Nord railway of France between Tilbury and Dunkerque.