Railway - Great Britain & Ireland

The opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 were key milestones in the creation of the modern railway.  Their George and Robert Stephenson designed steam locomotives, hauling passenger and freight trains on iron rails, had evolved from horse drawn wooden wagonways and the first steam locomotives pioneered by Richard Trevithick.

Railway expansion across Britain followed rapidly with the numerous companies formed during the railway mania of the 1840s being consolidated and amalgamated up to the First World War.   The 1923 Grouping created the ‘Big Four’ railway companies of the Great Western; Southern; London, Midland and Scottish; and London and North Eastern.  These companies were nationalised to form British Railways in 1948 and succeeded by the creation of the modern railway system on privatisation from 1994.

Locomotives, carriages and wagons developed to improve performance and operate on the variety of standard gauge, narrow gauge, miniature, light, industrial and military railways.  Steam locomotives operated on main lines until 1968, followed by diesel and electric ‘modern traction’.  

This category of books, maps, timetables and other ephemera comprehensively covers all aspects of the railways of Britain, including its locomotives, rolling stock, infrastructure and operations.  You can review in total or use the sub-categories on the left of this page to focus on a specific area of interest.

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