Big Four (British Railway Companies) - A

Big Four (British Railway Companies) - A

The "Big Four" was a name used to describe the four largest railway companies in the United Kingdom in the period 1923-1947. The name was coined by The Railway Magazine in its issue of February 1923: "The Big Four of the New Railway Era".

The Big Four were:

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

The companies were formed as a result of the Railways Act 1921, in a process known as "The Grouping" (of the railways), which came into effect on 1 January 1923.

On 1 January 1948, the companies were nationalised to form British Railways as a result of the Transport Act 1947.

Big Four British Railway Companies Characterisation

The three larger companies relied heavily on freight (especially coal), as well as long-distance passenger traffic. The Southern Railway, in contrast, was predominantly a passenger railway, which, despite its small size, carried more than a quarter of the total UK passenger traffic. That was because the area it served included some of the most densely-populated parts of the country and many of the well-patronised commuter lines radiating from London. It responded to that geography by pursuing a vigorous policy of electrification.

The GWR was the only company to retain its pre-grouping identity, which it duly imposed on all the companies it absorbed. However, the other three found that former influences remained strong. The Southern's management remained decentralised, respecting the three distinct bundles of routes inherited from its constituents.

The LMS struggled to reconcile different traditions, especially in locomotive engineering, only resolving that situation in 1932 with the appointment of Sir William Stanier, from the GWR, as chief mechanical engineer. The LNER never made a profit, a fact partly accounted for by having inherited the huge debts incurred by the Great Central Railway in building its extension to London.