The North Eastern Railway was formed in 1854 from the amalgamation of a number of smaller railway companies including the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway and the York & North Midland Railway. In 1863 it also absorbed the pioneering Stockton & Darlington Railway. From it's headquarters at
York, the NER eventually comprised over 8,000 km of track including what is now part of the East Coast Main Line.
The NER had lines throughout the North East of England plus a line into Scotland. It was an early adopter of electrification, the Tyneside scheme around
Newcastle and the
Newport-
Shildon Line. Advanced plans for mainline electrification included express trains between
Newcastle and
York hauled by locomotives like
Number 13. The NER was absorbed into the LNER in 1923. The reorganisation of the company, and financial pressures after the First World War meant these plans were never realised. The NER were also early adopters of internal combustion engine technology and built two
petrol electric railcars in 1903.
The NER was a highly successful railway business in the years running up to the First World War, it carried a greater tonnage of mineral and coal traffic than any other railway company. The NER's innovation in design and technology became a great influence on the successor LNER and Britain's railways in general.
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| NER Number 1275 |
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| York station, still a major railway centre |
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| NER C1 class 65033 |
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| NER electric shunter (ES1 class) |
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| NER M1 class |
