As you may already know, my favourite of the Big Four is the Great Western Railway. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, maybe 'what I grew up with' lol, but a Great Western Castle at speed is, for me, preferable to a West Country Pacific, Duchess or A4. (Don't get me wrong though, I love all of those!) Sit back and enjoy 8 minutes of Great Western Glory!
For the rail newcomers, the railways, when first built, criss crossed Britain, having been built by hundreds of different railway companies with varying degrees of success. In WW1, the government took control of the railways for the duration of the war, to centralise control of them and allow easier transportation of particularly goods. This was found to be a better system than fragmented into hundreds of competing companies, so the Grouping Act of 1923 bought the railways together into four strong companies: The GWR, LNER, LMS and SR. These operated through the golden age of steam in the 1930's until WW2, when the railways, financially in trouble, began, rather than competing, began working together for the war effort. This lead to the four being nationalised into one company, British Railways, in 1948. This video showcases the Great Western Railway, controlling routes from London to Wales, Birmingham, Birkenhead, Wolverhampton, Gloucester, Cardiff, Oxford, Swindon, Bristol, Bath, Plymouth, Exeter and Penzance.
If this video is popular, I may do a follow up on the others of the Big Four. Hope you enjoy!
