Mainline Freight was a trainload railfreight operator based in Islington, London England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 with operations extending to Yorkshire in the north and Somerset in the west. It was formed as a division of [British Rail] in 1994 (originally known by the working title of "Trainload Freight South East") as part of the privatisation of British Rail

Privatisation of British Rail

The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...

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The company introduced a livery of 'aircraft blue' with a silver bodyside stripe, and "rolling wheels" logo with Mainline branding.

Mainline Freight, Loadhaul and Transrail Freight were purchased by a consortium led by Wisconsin Central

Wisconsin Central Transportation

Wisconsin Central Ltd. is a railroad subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway. At one time, its parent Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation owned or operated railroads in the United States, Canada , the United Kingdom , New Zealand , and Australia .- Overview...

 in 1996 and amalgamated to form EWS, later renamed DB Schenker Rail (UK)

DB Schenker Rail (UK)

DB Schenker Rail , before 2009 known as English, Welsh and Scottish Railway is a British rail freight company. EWS was established by a consortium led by Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation in 1996 by acquisition of five of the six freight companies created by the privatisation of British...

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Mainlines Fleet consisted of Class 08,09,31,33,37,47,56,58,60 & 73 locomotives based at Toton, Stratford, Hither Green, Stewarts Lane and Eastleigh depots