^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

British Railway Company Flags

See also:

London & North Western Railway

image by Ivan Sache, 30 April 2021

Post card collection shows a red burgee with a white cross throughout and over all a very large white disc edged black containing a representation of Britannia.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 19 February 2007

Incorporated by the London and North Western Railway Act, 16 July 1846. Amalgamated into the London Midland and Scottish Railway Company as from 1 January 1923 by virtue of the Railways Act, 19 August 1921.

The London and North Western Railway Company was an amalgamation of the London and Birmingham, the Grand Junction and the Manchester and Birmingham railway companies.
The new company controlled 438 miles of railway route extending from Euston in London to Birmingham via Rugby and thence to Liverpool and Manchester via Warrington. Various further acts of Parliament were obtained which extended the LNWR's system by either authorising new lines or absorbing other railway companies, the most notable of which were the North London in 1909 and Lancashire and Yorkshire in 1922, giving the LNWR over 2,000 miles of route.
On 1 January 1923, the LNWR was grouped with other companies to form the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

National Archives
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C12598

image by Ivan Sache, 30 April 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the same house flag, with a thinner cross and indentation, and without black ring around Britannia (#1424, p. 104).
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#69
Ivan Sache, 30 April 2021

London & South Western Railway

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 9 January 2008

Post card collection shows a blue flag with large cartouche filled with the following arms: Per pale, the I London, and the second per fess Argent and Gules three roses two and one counterchanged.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 19 February 2007

An image of the flag is present in 1912 Lloyds Flags & Funnels, no. 1203: http://www.mysticseaport.org. See also here (bearing in mind that this is a modern re-creation for commercial purposes). The shield is less simple, it may be a later version. The roses at any rate represent the company seat, Southampton.

Some history can be found at http://www.soc.staffs.ac.uk/~cmtdtr/collect/lsw_enam.html, http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/SR_LSWR1.html and for Southampton at http://www.ngw.nl/int/gbr/s/southamp.htm.
Jan Mertens, 23 February 2007

A light blue flag with a large emblem on it, showing a coat of arms shield encircled by a garter. I used slightly different renditions of this taken from http://www.moonroller.com/jebbitt/graphics/lswr.gif and http://www.moonroller.com/jebbitt/graphics/lsw_enam.gif.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 9 January 2008

London & South Western and London, Brighton & Southern Coast Railway

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 9 January 2008

Post card collection shows a horizontally divided flag with the flag of the London and Southwestern Railway (q.v.) on top and a blue saltire on white, charged with a red cross coupe, on the bottom. Can we assume that the latter pattern is the flag of the London, Brighton & Southern Coast Railway?
António Martins-Tuválkin, 9 January 2008

London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (also French State Railways Newhaven-Dieppe Service)

image located by António Martins-Tuválkin, 19 February 2007

A website showing objects recovered from shipwrecks http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~indigo/flags.htm (fourth picture) shows the house flag of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway. It can be described as a St George cross – red on white, throughout – with the upper left quarter diagonally divided blue above white ((ascending diagonal), the upper right one diagonally divided red above white (descending diagonal), the lower left one white above red (descending diagonal) and the lower right one white above blue (ascending diagonal). The company name gives precedence to the British side but it also has French connections. The initials L.B. & S.C. are shown on the garter surrounding the flag but also the word ‘Ouest’ (French for ‘West’) and an additional scroll bears the words ‘Newhaven & Dieppe Service’.

Here is a link to Dominique Cureau's site on French house flags, where the flag is basically the same – the cross is somewhat thicker – identified as that of the French State railway (source given as Talbot-Booth). The on-line 1912 Lloyds Flags & Funnels has this flag as well under No. 1800. under ‘London Brighton & South Coast and French State Railways Newhaven-Dieppe Service’.

The British company existed – in this form – from 1846 to 1923, as documented at http://www.lbscr.demon.co.uk/index.html. More information about the French connection (1867 text) can be found at http://steve.pickthall.users.btopenworld.com/ssx1867/newhaven1867.html:

“Newhaven has become a considerable port for continental traffic; a branch of the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway connects it with London, and fast steamers ply daily to and from Dieppe, in connection with the Western Railway of France (Chemins de Fer de l’Ouest, jm), forming the most direct line from London to Paris: this route is preferred by many, not only for its regularity and cheapness, but also for the beauty of the scenery from Dieppe to Paris.”

The following page shows a series of French posters for this service: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/roland.arzul/etat/affiches/affiches5.htm, and another page (in French) gives the date of foundation of the common service as 1859, shows the house flag, etc.: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/roland.arzul/etat/inattendu/dieppe.htm. The Chemins de Fer de l’Ouest became French state property in 1908.
Jan Mertens, 23 November 2005

This post card collection confirms the flag.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 19 February 2007

London, Chatham & Dover Railway

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 9 January 2008

Post card collection shows an ascending diagonally divided flag of blue over red with lettering "LC&DR" in bold white sans serif capitals, slightly offset to the top.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 9 January 2008

image by Eugene Ipavec, 24 July 2010

Griffin 1891 (a later edition that Griffin 1883) gives a variant version with slender initials (no serifs), three dots only, and without ampersand. A more important difference however is the descending diagonal line defining a blue hoist and a red fly which is no. 324 on p. 16 of that source. Caption: ‘Lon. Chatham & Dover Ry, London’.
I really do not know which version is the right one (that is, supposing the house flag was never modified). In any case the company started out as the East Kent Railway (1858) and adapted its new name one year later. As we know, it merged with South Eastern Railway in 1899. More information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London,_Chatham_and_Dover_Railway.
Jan Mertens, 19 August 2009

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 19 February 2007

Post card collection shows a red flag with a white cross throughout and over all a very large white disc edged black containing the company emblem, which is a heraldic crest (wing on a torse charged with what seems to be a cross per gyronny) surrounded at the bottom and sides by branches of thistle (fly) and rose (hoist), which are canting elements.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 19 February 2007

The wing is a dragon's, it bears a red cross and refers to the crest of the City of London (where the wing is silver however): http://www.railwayfriends.org/plaqueslarge/rc18.html.

The above given for detail, this one seems nearer the mark:
http://www.kesr.org.uk/acatalog/London_Midland_Scottish_Railway_badge.jpg
Jan Mertens, 22 February 2007