History of rail transport in Great Britain 1830–1922

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This article is part of a series on the History of rail transport in Great Britain

The period 1830 - 1922 covers the time between the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR), and the creation of the "Big Four".

The 1830s

As Manchester had grown on cotton spinning, so Leeds had a growing trade in weaving. The Pennines restricted canal development, so the railway provided a realistic alternative, especially with the growth in coal usage from the mines in the North East and Yorkshire; A number of lines were approved in the area, such as the Leeds and Selby Railway, in 1830, which would link the former to the port of Hull, via the River Ouse.

While the L&MR had not ousted the Lancashire canal system from the transport of goods, there was an unexpected enthusiasm for passenger travel. The financial success of these lines was beyond all expectations and interests in London and Birmingham soon planned to build lines linking these cities together and with the L&MR. These two lines were the London and Birmingham (L&BR), designed by Robert Stephenson, which ran from Euston Square, London, to Curzon Street, Birmingham, and the Grand Junction, engineered by Joseph Locke, which ran from Curzon Street to an end-on junction with the Warrington and Newton Line, a branch of the L&MR, at Dallam, near Warrington in Cheshire. The Grand Junction was designed to link the existing L&MR and the new L&BR; it opened on 4 July 1837, with the L&BR following a few months later.

Although an Act of Parliament allowed railway companies compulsory purchase of wayleave, some powerful landowners objected railways being built across their land and raised objections in Parliament to prevent the bill from being passed. Some landowners charged excessive amounts, so these early lines did not always follow the optimal route. It was the curves on these early lines that, a century later, would lead to British Railways' experimentation with, and later introduction of, tilting trains.

Railway Mania

Although the Government was in favour of the development of trunk railways to stimulate economic recovery and to facilitate the movement of troops in times of potential civil unrest, it was legally necessary that each line be authorised by a separate Act of Parliament. While there were entrepreneurs with the vision of an intercity network of lines, such as those through the East Midlands, it was much easier to find investors to back shorter stretches that were clearly defined in purpose, where rapid returns on investment could be predicted.

All the railways were promoted by commercial interests; as those opened by the year 1836 were paying good dividends it prompted financiers to invest money in them, and by 1845 over 1000 projected schemes had been put forward. This lead to a speculative frenzy, following a common pattern: as the price of railway shares increased, more and more money was poured in by speculators, until the inevitable collapse in price. It reached its zenith in 1846, when no fewer than 272 Acts of Parliament setting up new railway companies were passed. Unlike most stock market bubbles, there was a net tangible result from all the investment in the form of a vast expansion of the British railway system, though perhaps at an inflated cost. When the government stepped in and announced closure for depositing schemes, the period of "Railway Mania", as it was called, was brought to an end.

The commercial interests mentioned above were often of a local nature, and there was never a nationwide plan to develop a logical network of railways. Some railways, however, began to grow faster than others, often taking over smaller lines to expand their own. The L&MR success led to the idea of linking Liverpool to London, and from that the seeds of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR) - an amalgamation of four hitherto separate enterprises, including the L&MR - were sown. Within 50 years the L&NWR was to become "the biggest joint stock company in the world" [citation needed].

Government involvement

While it had been necessary to obtain an Act of Parliament to build a new railway, the government initially took a laissez faire approach to their construction and operation. The Government began to take an interest in safety matters, with the 1840 "Act for Regulating Railways", which empowered the Board of Trade to appoint railway inspectors [1]. The Railway Inspectorate was established in 1842 to enquire after the causes of accidents and recommend ways of avoiding them. As early as 1844 a bill had been put before Parliament suggesting the state purchase of the railways; this was was not adopted. It did, however, lead to the introduction to minimum standrads for the construction of carriages [2], which came to be known as "Parliamentary Carriages".

"The Battle of the Gauges"

Bristol Temple Meads, the GWR terminus

George Stephenson built the L&MR railway to the same gauge as the tramroads in use in the North Eastern colliery railways he had grown up working on: a track gauge of Template:4ft8in, and all railways built by him and his assistants adhered to that gauge. When Bristol businessmen wished to build their railway linking their city with London, they chose Isambard Kingdom Brunel as their engineer. Brunel favoured a wider gauge of Template:7ft: he felt that railways would not be in contact with one another and that there was therefore no need for there to be a uniform British gauge. The Great Western Railway(GWR) (completed in 1841) was constructed to Brunel's broad gauge. However his assumption was incorrect; and when railways of a different gauge met the inconvenience caused led to the setting up of a commission to look into the matter. Their conclusion was that Stephenson's "narrow gauge" should be adopted as Britain's standard gauge. Parliament passed the Gauge of Railways Act in 1846 which stipulated the standard gauge of Template:4ft8in [3].

The undaunted GWR pressed ahead into the West Midlands, in hard-fought competition with the London and North Western Railway. Birmingham was reached in 1852, at Snow Hill and Wolverhampton Low Level (the furthest-north broad-gauge station) in 1854. The Bristol and Gloucester Railway had been bought by the Midland Railway in 1846 and converted to standard gauge in 1854, bringing mixed gauge track (with three rails, so that both broad and standard gauge trains could run on it) to Bristol. By the 1860s the gauge war was lost; with the merger of the standard-gauge West Midlands Railway into the GWR in 1861 mixed gauge came to Paddington, and by 1869 there was no broad-gauge track north of Oxford.

Through this period the conversion to standard gauge continued, with mixed-gauge track reaching Exeter in 1876. By this time most conversions were bypassing mixed gauge and going directly from broad to standard. The final stretch of broad gauge was converted to standard in a single weekend in May 1892.

London

Euston station, showing the wrought iron roof of 1837. Note the open carriages

By the 1850s, many steam-powered railways had reached the fringes of built-up London (which was much smaller then than now). But the new lines were not permitted to demolish enough property to penetrate the City or the West End, so passengers had to disembark at Paddington, Euston, Kings Cross, Fenchurch Street, Charing Cross, Waterloo or Victoria and then make their own way via hackney carriage or on foot into the centre, thereby massively increasing congestion in the city. The Metropolitan Railway was built under the ground to connect several of these separate railway terminals. It opened in 1863.

Early successes

The financial success of the early railways was phenomenal, as they had no real competition. The roads were still very slow and in poor condition. Prices of fuel and food fell in cities connected to railways owing to the fall in the cost of transport. The layout of lines with gentle gradients and curves, originating from the need to help the relatively weak engines and brakes, was a boon when speeds increased, avoiding for the most part the need to re-survey the course of a line. Less than 20 years after the Liverpool line opened, it was possible to travel from London to Scotland by train, in a small fraction of the former time by road.

By 1923 there were some nine major railways operating in England and five in Scotland. In addition there were smaller companies, such as the Cambrian Railways and the many South Wales lines; the Furness and Hull and Barnsley Railways in England; and many much smaller lines. A brief note about each of the larger companies will illustrate how they grew to the importance they had assumed by the time of the huge amalgamations which took place in 1923, in which all but a very few railways were absorbed. Each of the railways described briefly below have their own article.

Major pre-grouping railway companies in Great Britain

English railways

Great Central Railway (GCR)
before 1897 the GCR was called the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, when it served those areas by means of an east-west line; it then built a line to London, and was renamed as the GCR. The line occupied the central position between the East and West Coast main lines (see below) and had its London terminus at Marylebone station. Since nationalisation the route has been truncated.
Great Eastern Railway locomotive, c. 1902
Great Eastern Railway (GER)
the GER was an amalgamation of the Eastern Counties Railway and the Northern and Eastern Railway, and as its name suggests served the eastern counties of England: Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. Its main London terminus was Liverpool Street.
Great Northern Railway (GNR)
the GNR began as an amalgamation in 1846 of two rival schemes: the London and York Railway and the Direct Northern Railway (both started in 1844). The GNR main line ran northwards from King's Cross to a joint station with the NER at Doncaster. Other lines served Lincolnshire and Derby Friargate. The GNR also had joint ownership of the Cheshire Lines Committee, giving access to Liverpool; other joint workings led to West Yorkshire (Leeds and Halifax). The GNR, with the NER and the NBR, operated the East Coast Main Line between London and Edinburgh
Great Western Railway (GWR)
the GWR was incorporated in 1835 to construct a railway, operated on the broad gauge of Template:7ft, between Bristol and London. With the addition of several railways - among them the Bristol and Exeter Railway (amalgamated 1876); South Wales Railway (1863); West Midland Railway (1863); South Devon Railway (1878); and the Cornwall Railway (1889) - the GWR territory took shape. The major routes, apart from the original line, served Weymouth, Plymouth and Penzance to the west; all of South Wales to Fishguard and Aberystwyth; Birmingham and Chester to the north-west. A working agreement with the LNWR took the latter line to Birkenhead on Merseyside. The broad gauge system resulted in what became known as the Gauge War: it caused great problems where the GWR met other companies' tracks, and eventually (in 1892) the last broad gauge line was abolished. The name "Great Western Railway", unlike all the other railways referred to, has been retained throughout the nationalisation of the railways, and one of the train operating companies bears the name in 2005.
Manchester Victoria station, built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR)
the L&YR was incorporated in 1847; as with all the major railways it was the result of amalgamations, in this instance the Manchester and Leeds Railway which in 1859 joined the East Lancashire Railway to form the L&YR. Its lines covered the two counties, and served amongst others Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Preston, Doncaster and Goole. In 1922, after the passing of the Railways Act 1921, the L&YR amalgamated with the LNWR.
London and North Western Railway (LNWR)
the LNWR was formed in 1846 when four existing lines were amalgamated: the London and Birmingham Railway; the Liverpool and Manchester Railway; the Grand Junction Railway; and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, making the LNWR the largest in the country at that time [420 miles (672 km)]. By 1923 its main line stretched from Euston station in London to Carlisle, with branches to Oxford and Cambridge; to Peterborough; and from Crewe to North Wales and West Yorkshire. It had running powers to enable its trains to reach Swansea and other parts of South Wales; and it also owned a railway in Ireland. The LNWR, together with the Caledonian Railway, operated the West Coast Main Line between London and Glasgow.
London and South Western Railway (LSWR)
Promoted as the London and Southampton Railway, the first section opened in 1838. By 1923 its main line extended from Waterloo in London via Salisbury and Exeter to Plymouth running parallel, but south of, the GWR main line. Other main towns served were Portsmouth and Bournemouth as well many of the south and south-west seaside resorts. The latter were served by what was known as the Atlantic Coast Express. The LSWR also had a busy suburban network in south-west London. The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway was jointly owned with the Midland Railway.
London Victoria station, used by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR)
the LB&SCR began as the London and Croydon Railway (opened in 1839) and the London and Brighton Railway (1840). Its network of lines covered a large portion of the South London suburbs and served almost the whole of the county of Sussex, much of Surrey and some extensions into Kent and Hampshire. Many of the south coast resorts owe their existence to the line. Electrification began in 1909 on the overhead system; this was later changed to third rail when the LB&SCR became part of the Southern Railway.
Midland Railway (MidR)
the MidR was formed in 1844 with the amalgamation of three railways: the North Midland Railway; the Midland Counties Railway, and the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway. In its early days it had no London terminus, using termini of other railways (the LNWR and the GNR) until 1862, when its grandiose London terminus at St Pancras was built. By 1923 its main lines ran from St Pancras to Carlisle, via Nottingham and Sheffield, and via Derby (the MidR headquarters) to Manchester. It also had a secondary main line from Derby through Birmingham to Bristol. It part-owned the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, serving east coast ports and resorts; the Somerset and Dorset Railway (with the L&SWR); and had access using other joint railways to reach Swansea in South Wales, Liverpool, and the port of Stranraer in Scotland. The latter route gave it access to its ownership of two of the Irish railways.
Newcastle Central Station, built by the North Eastern Railway
North Eastern Railway (NER)
The NER was incorporated in 1854, and was the amalgamation of three railways: the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway; the York and North Midland Railway; and the Leeds Northern Railway. In 1923 its main line ran from the joint station at Doncaster through York and Newcastle-on-Tyne to Berwick-on-Tweed. It formed part of the East Coast Main Line, and its headquarters were at York. It had a larger tonnage of mineral and coal traffic at the beginning of the 20th century than any other railway in Britain.
South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR)
The SE&CR was a so-called working union in 1902 of two railways in the south east of England; the South Eastern Railway (opened in 1842) and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (1859). Like the LB&SCR and the LSWR, it had a large suburban traffic base and served many of the south east coast seaside resorts. Its main line in 1923 ran from several London termini via Tonbridge to Dover and Folkestone.

Scottish railways

For further details see List of early British railway companies

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Railways of Great Britain.
  1. ^ 1840 Railway Regulation Act, orginally published by HMSO; link is to The Railways Archive
  2. ^ 1844 Railway Regulation Act, orginally published by HMSO; link is to The Railways Archive
  3. ^ "The British standard gauge".
  • Gould, David (1987-07-20). The London & Birmingham Railway 150 Years on. David & C. ISBN 0715389688.
  • Ransom, P.J.G. (1989). The Victorian Railway and How It Evolved. London: William Heinemann. ISBN 0434980838. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Hall, Stanley (1990-09-28). Railway Detectives: The 150-year Saga of the Railway Inspectorate. Shepperton: Ian Allen Ltd. ISBN 0711019290.
  • Peter Truman and David Hunt (1989). Midland Railway Portrait. Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing. ISBN 0906579724. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • London and North Western Railway Society. "History of the LNWR". Retrieved 2006-11-24.
  • Thrower, W. Rayner (1984). The Great Northern Main Line. Oakwood Press. ISBN 0853612978. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • E.T. MacDermot (1972). ed. C.R. Clinker (ed.). History of the Great Western Railway Volume One 1833-1863. Ian Allen. ISBN 0-7110-0411-0. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help)
  • E.T. MacDermot (1973). ed. C.R. Clinker (ed.). History of the Great Western Railway Volume Two 1863-1921. Ian Allen. ISBN 0-7110-0412-9. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
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