Manchester – Manchester Victoria Station (Tiled Map)

Whilst meandering around the railway station of Manchester Victoria waiting for my train to Newcastle, I saw this rather impressive tiled map of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. It’d be quite hard to miss it, it’s a not inconsiderable map on the wall.

I can’t help thinking that it shows a rail network rather in isolation, as if the passengers didn’t intend to go very far north or south with any other rail operating company. Manchester Victoria was the most substantial railway station in the L&Y network, although it’s much smaller now. The network lasted until January 1922 when the area was regrouped into the larger London and North Western Railway (which lasted for all of one year before becoming London, Midland and Scottish Railway). Of all the routes on the map, it looks like the significant majority are still in operation.