The Story of the Big Four Railway Companies

by Colin G. Maggs

GWR, LMS, LNER and these initials arouse memories of the Cornish Riviera Express, the streamlined Coronation Scot, the streamlined Coronation with its beaver tail, and the Southern Electrics, yet three of these companies only enjoyed a life of 25 years. Colin G. Maggs, who was born in this era and is one of the country's leading railway historians, is perfectly placed to tell the story of how these Big Four companies came into being and their enormous success following the rundown of the railways during the First World War, which system of neglect led to 26 companies becoming 4. The remarkable, if surprisingly brief, era of the Big Four saw great changes and achievements, including streamlining; speed records; electrification; diesel power; railway-owned buses and aircraft; and a real sense of cooperation between companies at last.

284 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2022

About the author

Colin Gordon Maggs

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed look at the big 4 rail companies prior to the 1948 nationalisation

[James125 · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're interested in this period of railway history then buying this book is a no-brainer, however I don't think I can recommend it to anyone with only a casual interest in railways.

My problem with this book is the way it's written. Each chapter reads less like a broad history and more like a disorganised fact file, often full of hyper specific statistics that I don't think are really needed. This unfortunately means that (in my opinion), it's not an especially easy or at times even fun book to read.

That being said, there's still a great deal of content within its pages. The author is an excellent historian and the book is very well researched, I just wish the information was presented in a more digestible manor.