Great Northern, Great Eastern, Great Scott!

It is amazing that so many readers should come out of the woodwork to sing the praises of the London and North Eastern Railway and its constituent companies. Your correspondents criticized Liverpool Street station yet Kings Cross station could equally be likened to the black hole of Calcutta.

Neither Kings Cross nor Liverpool Street can compare to Paddington with its airy train shed. Where else could one stroll on a Sunday afternoon along the concourse, always known as "The Lawn" and listen to the Great Western Railway Brass Band?
Mention of the Great Western Railway reminds me that the only railway that could truly be termed "great" was the Great Western which was also known affectionately as "God's Wonderful Railway".

Your correspondents seem to have overlooked the merit of John Corby's excellent article on the famous "Flying Scotsman". Sir Nigel Gresley certainly went one better in his locomotive design compared to Canadian railways. While we Canadians could only handle two cylinders per locomotive, Sir Nigel added a third cylinder to his best locomotives. Of course, I must add that the GWR found four cylinders preferable. To parody George Orwell: "Two cylinders good, three cylinders better, four cylinders best"

Bytown Railway Society, Letter to Branchline, December 1990.

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