The Race to the North was the name given by the press to two occasions in summers of the late 19th century when British passenger trains belonging to different companies would literally race each other from London to Scotland over the two principal rail trunk routes connecting the English capital city to Scotland - the West Coast Main Line which runs from London Euston via Crewe and Carlisle and the East Coast Main Line route from London King's Cross via York and Newcastle. The "races" were never official and publicly the companies denied that what happened was racing at all. Results were never announced officially and the outcomes have since been hotly debated. In the 20th century there were also occasions of competition for speed on the two routes.
Read more about Race To The North: Background, London To Edinburgh, 1888, London To Aberdeen, 1895, Aftermath of The 1895 Races, Later Rivalry, The Two Routes Today, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words race and/or north:
“... a full notecase,
Dull Bodley, draught beer, and dark blue,
And most often losing the Boat Race ...”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“Let north and south—let all Americans—let all lovers of liberty everywhere—join in the great and good work. If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union; but we shall have so saved it, as to make, and to keep it, forever worthy of the saving. We shall have so saved it, that the succeeding millions of free happy people, the world over, shall rise up, and call us blessed, to the latest generations.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)