What was the name of the four largest railway companies in the UK?
Q: What was the name of the four largest railway companies in the UK?
A: The Big Four.
Q: When was the term "The Big Four" coined?
A: The term "The Big Four" was coined by The Railway Magazine in its issue of February 1923.
Q: What were the names of these four companies?
A: The four companies were Great Western Railway (GWR), London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and Southern Railway (SR).
Q: How did these four companies come to be formed?
A: These four companies were formed as a result of the Railways Act 1921, in a process known as "The Grouping" (of the railways).
Q: When did this process come into effect?
A: This process came into effect on 1 January 1923.
Q: What happened to these companies on 1 January 1948?
A: On 1 January 1948, these companies were nationalised to form British Railways as a result of the Transport Act 1947.
