History of rail transport in Great Britain

Although the Government was in favour of the development of trunk railways to stimulate economic recovery (in which they were tremendously successful) and to facilitate the movement of troops in times of potential civil unrest, it was legally necessary that each line was authorised by a separate Act of Parliament. While there were entrepreneurs with the vision of an intercity network of lines, such as the Early East Midlands railway schemes, it was much easier to find investors in shorter st ...

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History of rail transport in Great Britain, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Railed roads and tramways 1676 to 1825, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Early rails, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Early public railways, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Stockton and Darlington Railway, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The development of the railways 1825 to 1923, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Liverpool and Manchester Railway, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Further Progress, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Railway Mania, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Government involvement, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The Battle of the Gauges, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Early successes, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Major railway companies in Great Britain, History of rail transport in Great Britain - English railways, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Scottish railways, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The Grouping, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Following the grouping: 1923-1947, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The grouping period, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Nationalisation, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The railways in the post-war world, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The modernisation plan, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The Beeching era, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The 1970s, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The 1980s, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The 1990s, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Privatisation, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Contemporary developments

Read more here: » History of rail transport in Great Britain: Encyclopedia II - History of rail transport in Great Britain - Railway Mania

History of rail transport 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.

In the 16 years before the outbreak of WWII the new companies set about the tremendous task of rebuilding railways which had had little or no work done since 1918. Priority was new rolling stock: locomotives, coaches and wagons. As an example of the need for rationalisation, the LMSR took over 10,316 steam locomotives at the grouping: these comprised no fewer than 393 different classes. In the 1920s each of the companies produced some exceptional locomotives: LMSR: Royal Scot class 4-6-0 (1927); Sir Henry Fowler wa ...

See also:

History of rail transport in Great Britain, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Railed roads and tramways 1676 to 1825, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Early rails, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Early public railways, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Stockton and Darlington Railway, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The development of the railways 1825 to 1923, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Liverpool and Manchester Railway, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Further Progress, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Railway Mania, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Government involvement, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The Battle of the Gauges, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Early successes, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Major railway companies in Great Britain, History of rail transport in Great Britain - English railways, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Scottish railways, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The Grouping, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Following the grouping: 1923-1947, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The grouping period, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Nationalisation, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The railways in the post-war world, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The modernisation plan, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The Beeching era, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The 1970s, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The 1980s, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The 1990s, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Privatisation, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Contemporary developments

Read more here: » History of rail transport in Great Britain: Encyclopedia II - History of rail transport in Great Britain - Following the grouping: 1923-1947

During the First World War the whole system was taken under government control and run by the Railway Operating Division of the War Office. This revealed some advantages in running the railways with fewer companies, and after the war it was widely agreed that the required development of the rail network could not be achieved under the conditions that had existed before the war. Nationalisation of the railways, which had been mooted by William Gladstone as early as the 1830s, was considered, but was rejected by the government and the owners o ...

See also:

History of rail transport in Great Britain, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Railed roads and tramways 1676 to 1825, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Early rails, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Early public railways, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Stockton and Darlington Railway, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The development of the railways 1825 to 1923, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Liverpool and Manchester Railway, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Further Progress, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Railway Mania, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Government involvement, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The Battle of the Gauges, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Early successes, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Major railway companies in Great Britain, History of rail transport in Great Britain - English railways, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Scottish railways, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The Grouping, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Following the grouping: 1923-1947, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The grouping period, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Nationalisation, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The railways in the post-war world, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The modernisation plan, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The Beeching era, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The 1970s, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The 1980s, History of rail transport in Great Britain - The 1990s, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Privatisation, History of rail transport in Great Britain - Contemporary developments

Read more here: » History of rail transport in Great Britain: Encyclopedia II - History of rail transport in Great Britain - The grouping period