Railways in Britain

Early History: The first railway lines were introduced in Britain in the early seventeenth century to carry coal from the pits to the river wharves. The wagons were pulled by muscle power. The first public goods line was opened in 1803 and the first fare-paying passengers were carried on the horse-drawn Oystermouth Railway, near Swansea, in 1807. In 1804, the first steam locomotive (built by Richard Trevithick) ran in Wales, but was too heavy for the iron rails. The first commercial railway to be steam powered was the Middleton Colliery Railway, which used a rack and pinion traction system from 1812. The Stockton and Darlington Railway, the first public railway in the world to use steam power, opened in 1825 using George Stephenson’s Locomotion. In 1830, the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway became the first railway to run regularly scheduled passenger services. From then on, the railways rapidly expanded, with the peak being in the ‘Railway Mania’ of the 1840s.

The Big Four: The government took over all railway services on the outbreak of war in 1914 and runs them until 15 August 1921, when the private railway companies regain control. Great Britain is now served by well over one hundred railway companies, many running competing routes that sometimes even run parallel to one another. This situation has to end and in 1921 the Railways Act is passed, forcing most railway companies to amalgamate into four large companies which divide the country between them. The act comes into effect in 1923, and 123 companies merge into what become known as the ‘Big Four’. Some towns are still served by more than one company, but no longer do the routes themselves overlap. A few small railways remain independent of the Big Four. The Big Four are the Great Western Railway (GWR), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the Southern Railway (SR).

Great Western Railway (GWR): The only one of the Big Four that is the direct continuation of a pre-1923 company, the first section of the GWR (‘God’s Wonderful Railway’, as it was known) opened in 1838. It absorbs numerous smaller companies under the Railways Act. Its 3,820 route miles serve the West of England and South Wales.

London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS): The main companies which amalgamate to form the LMS are the London and North Western Railway, Midland Railway, North Staffordshire Railway, Furness Railway, Caledonian Railway, Glasgow and South Western Railway, and Highland Railway. The LMS serves the West Midlands, North Wales, North West England and much of Scotland.

London and North Eastern Railway (LNER): The LNER is largely formed from the Great Central Railway, Great Eastern Railway, Great North of Scotland Railway, Great Northern Railway, North British Railway, and North Eastern Railway. The LNER serves East Anglia, the East Midlands, North East England and South East Scotland.

Southern Railway (SR): The main comapnies that amalgamate to form the SR are the London and South Western Railway, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, and the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Although the SR serves the smallest area of any of the Big Four - South East England and the South Coast - its lines are the busiest in the country, serving the main commuter routes into London.

Miscellaneous Railway Notes

• Classes: Most railways have two classes: first class and third class. Second class was abolished on most services before the 1920s and, logical though it may be, third class will not be renamed second class until 1956.
• Continental Through Services: The Harwich-Zeebrugge train ferry service first runs in 1924. The Golden Arrow, a Pullman service running from London to Paris, begins in 1929. The night ferry through service from London to Paris and Brussels will not be introduced until 1936.
• Express Services: The Cornish Riviera Limited, running non-stop from London Paddington to Plymouth and then stopping at the major Cornish stations en route to Penzance, was introduced by the GWR in 1904. The first non-stop service between London and Edinburgh is started by the LNER in 1928.
• Road Haulage: In 1928, the railway companies are permitted by Act of Parliament to set up road haulage operations to complement their railway services.
• Sleeper Services: The first British sleeper services (between London and Scotland) ran in 1873. Sleeper services are first class only until 1928, when third class sleeper services are introduced.
• Dining Cars: The first dining cars on British railways ran in 1879.
• Mail Trains: Like most other railway innovations, Britain invented the mail train. The first dedicated mail train ran in 1855, between London and Bristol.
• Track Gauge: Most British railways have a track gauge of 4ft 8˝in (1.435m), standardised in 1846. The GWR, however, will retain its 7ft (2.134m) gauge, which it has used since 1838, until 1982.
• Electrification: The first regularly scheduled electric surface trains ran on the South London Line of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1909, using an overhead cable system. The first main line to be electrified, however, is the London Victoria-Brighton/Worthing line, which is electrified using a third rail system in 1933.
• Signalling: Semaphore signals were first used in 1841, as was the electric telegraph. The first automatic signalling system was introduced in 1902, on a section of the London and South Western Railway between Andover and Grateley. The GWR introduced the first audible in-cab signalling equipment in 1906.
• Lighting: The first fully electrically lit train in Britain ran in 1881.
• Pullman Services: The luxury Pullman services were introduced to Britain in 1874.
• Bridges and Tunnels: The Britannia Bridge opened across the Menai Straits (between mainland Wales and Anglesey) in 1850, to carry the service from London to Holyhead, where it met the mail steamers for Ireland. The Severn Railway Tunnel, crossing between England and Wales just north of Bristol, opened in 1886. The Forth Railway Bridge, carrying the main line across the Firth of Forth, opened in 1890.
• Railway Hotels: Most major stations have an attached hotel run by the railway company. The first was opened at London Euston in 1839.