Big Four British railway companies

From Conservapedia - Reading time: 1 min

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The Big Four British railway companies operated most of the trains in Great Britain from 1923 to 1947. They were created by merging (known as grouping) a large number of smaller railway companies following the passing of the Railways Act 1921 by the British government.

The Big Four were:

• Great Western Railway (GWR)
• London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS)
• London and North Eastern Railway (LNER)
• Southern Railway (SR)

Constituents[edit]

Great Western Railway[edit]

The Great Western Railway existed before 1923 and kept its original name. In 1923, it took over most of the railways in Wales.

London, Midland and Scottish Railway[edit]

The main constituents of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway were:

• Midland Railway
• London and North Western Railway
• Several railways in Scotland

London and North Eastern Railway[edit]

The main constituents of the London and North Eastern Railway were:

• North Eastern Railway
• Great Northern Railway
• Several railways in Scotland

Southern Railway[edit]

The main constituents of the Southern Railway were:

• London and South Western Railway
• London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
• South Eastern and Chatham Railway

Nationalization[edit]

On 1 January 1948, the Big Four were nationalized to form British Railways, which later became British Rail.