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The '''London and Birmingham Railway''' (L&BR) was an early [[railway]] company in the [[United Kingdom]], which existed between [[1833]] and [[1846]]. The railway line that the company built and owned between [[London]] and [[Birmingham]], which opened in [[1838]], was one of the first intercity railway lines in the world and the first railway line to be built into London. 

The line was built by the famous engineer [[Robert Stephenson]]. It started at [[Euston Station]] in London, and traveled north until it reached [[Rugby, England|Rugby]], where it turned west through [[Coventry]] and then to Birmingham. 

Initially, trains from Euston were cable- hauled up the relatively steep incline to [[Camden Town|Camden]], where a [[steam locomotive]] was attached. The original [[engine shed]], a [[roundhouse]], still stands at Camden, having been, for most of its life, a warehouse and more recently an arts centre.

The Birmingham end of the line terminated at [[Birmingham Curzon Street Station|Curzon Street Station]], which it effectively shared with the [[Grand Junction Railway]] (GJR), whose platfoms were adjacent, providing a link to the [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]] (L&MR), and thus through travel from London to those cities. 

In 1846 the L&BR merged with the [[Grand Junction Railway]] to form the [[London and North Western Railway]].

The line is still operating as a major part of the [[West Coast Main Line]].

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====References====
* Adapted from the [[Wikipedia]] article, "London_and_Birmingham_Railway" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_and_Birmingham_Railway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_and_Birmingham_Railway], used under the [[GNU Free Documentation License]]