The Midland Railway Study Centre holds many maps of the Midland Railway system. There is an extensive collection of “two chain plans”; that is maps at a scale of two chains to an inch or 1:792 (a Chain equalling 22 Yards – or a cricket wicket!). The Study Centre also holds detailed plans of junctions, signal box diagrams, Ordnance Survey maps and originals of the Distance Diagrams.
This system map is of the Midland Railway passenger lines and is based on maps from Working Timetables of around the First World War era. Therefore it doesn’t contain the Midland’s West Riding Lines. Note that it also omits the Midland’s Irish lines and their joint concerns such as the Somerset & Dorset and Midland & Great Northern.
The Railway Companies (Accounts and Returns) Act 1911 introduced the obligation for the inclusion of a map into the now annual accounts. The First Schedule of the Act simply states the requirement of “Map” and under the “Form of Accounts and Statistical Returns” this is amplified to “Map – This should be explanatory of the Railway System”
The first year of the new style of accounts was 1913 and the map is from the Annual Report and Accounts for 1922, the last year of the Midland Railway. This map shows the last addition to the system, the Yorkshire Dales from Skipton to Grassington acquired in 1922 as a prelude to the Grouping in the following year. Prior to that the railway was only worked by the Midland. One omission from the map is the Forth Bridge Railway. This was because the Midland did not own any shares in this company even though it nominated three of the directors, and Sir Ernest Paget sat in the chair. The Midland, along with the East Coast companies however, did guarantee the debenture interest and a 4% dividend on the shares of the company.
The Midland Railway produced detailed maps of its whole system showing distances of every station and junction from St. Pancras. They were re-published at a slightly reduced scale in a series of A4 soft-bound books. The books are now out of print, but you may be able to find them at a specialist second-hand book dealer.
In Peter Kay’s introduction to his published volumes of the Midland Railway Distance Diagrams, he says:
“The Midland Railway’s ‘Distance Diagrams’ were amongst the finest pieces of mapping undertaken by any of the pre-grouping railway companies. The Cumbrian Railways Association have this to say in their introduction to The Midland’s Settle & Carlisle Distance Diagrams. [The maps are] official diagrams drawn up by the Midland Railway Company for the purpose of calculating distances on its system. They come from a volume which depicted the whole of the Midland Railway and the lines over which it had running powers, […] to Yarmouth and Southend in the east, to Bournemouth and Bridgewater in the south west, Swansea in Wales, and to Stranraer and Portpatrick in South West Scotland. The diagrams were updated from time to time […]. They show a fascinating amount of detail, short of actual track plans, with enlarged diagrams for the important operating centres.”
The Midland’s Settle & Carlisle Distance Diagrams. ISBN: 0951920103. Published by the Cumbrian Railways Association.
Midland Railway Systems Maps : Carlisle to Leeds and branches : the Settle & Carlisle Line. ISBN 1889890254. Price: £4.95.
Midland Railway Systems Maps – Vol. 2 (Leeds to Leicester, Derby to Manchester, Cheshire Lines). ISBN: 1899890173. Price: £9.95
Midland Railway Systems Maps – Vol. 3 (Leicester to London, M&GN, LTS). ISBN: 1899890165. Price: £8.95.
Midland Railway Systems Maps – Vol. 4 (Birmingham to Bristol, South Wales, S&D Joint). ISBN: 1899890181. Price: £7.95
Midland Railway Systems Maps – Vol. 5 (Portpatrick & Wigtownshire Railway, the G&SW line from Castle Douglas to Gretna Junction, the canal maps, an introduction and guide (with tables) by John Gough, the 1912 index, and amendment sheets from 1910 to 1927). Price: £7.95.
Midland Railway Systems Maps – Vol. 5A Reprints of the earlier amendment sheets.
Midland Railway Systems Maps – Vol. 6 – The Gradient Diagrams. This volume covers the company’s gradient profiles. They are reproduced from original documents in the Roy Burrows Collection (now the Midland Railway Study Centre); John Gough is the co-author of the historical introduction and user’s guide. Price: £7.50.
Most of the maps were produced at a scale of 1 inch to 1 mile, though many of the busier junctions and stations have inset enlargements at the scale of 2 inches to 1 mile. In the volumes below, the maps are reproduced at 80% of full size to fit within an A4 double page spread. The maps have been published in six volumes.
The first of which was originally published by the Cumbrian Railways Association, but has now been re-published by Peter Kay along with the remaining volumes. All volumes are now out of print. If you require a copy of any of these publications your best bet is to try the various specialist second-hand book shops. A look in the adverts sections of railway enthusiast magazines will reveal several possible sources.
If you’ve enjoyed your visit, why not consider becoming a member? Great benefits including high quality journals and more.
