Great Northern Railway

Under the 1923 Grouping, the Great Northern became part of the London and North Eastern Railway.

The GNR operated services from London King's Cross to York together with many secondary lines and branches. The Great Northern was a partner (with the North Eastern Railway and the North British Railway) in the East Coast Joint Stock operation from 1860.

The GNR was a considerable user of slip coaches when this was fashionable. Stamford had four slips per day, either at Essendine or Peterborough. The 5.30 pm from Kings Cross had slips at Huntingdon, Peterborough, Newark and Worksop. The company went to great pains to enable people to stay in their carriages; at one time around 1905 two carriages were taken off a train from the North at Kings Cross and sent by way of York Road and the Metropolitan Railway and SE & CR to Clapham Junction, where, attached to some LNWR carriages, they were worked forward to Weymouth by the London and South Western Railway.

Accidents

On 21 January 1876, an express passenger train ran into the rear of a freight train at Abbots Ripton, Huntingdonshire, when signals became frozen in the "clear" position during a blizzard. Thirteen people were killed and 59 were injured.

On 14 April 1876, an express train ran into the rear of a mail train at Corby, Northamptonshire, when signals froze in the "clear" position during a blizzard.

On 23 December 1876, an express train overran signals and collided with a number of wagons at Arlesey Sidings, Bedfordshire. Six people were killed.

On 7 March 1896, a passenger train derailed at Little Bytham, Lincolnshire, when a speed restriction was removed prematurely after track renewal. Two people were killed.

On 19 September 1906, a sleeping-car train derailed at Grantham, Lincolnshire, when it passed signals at danger and ran through the station at excessive speed. Fourteen people were killed and seventeen were injured.