The Railways Act of 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which the country had derived from a government-controlled railway during and after the Great War of 1914-1918. This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Ireland for the years up to its dissolution in 1800. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1707-1719. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1720-1739. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1740-1759. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1760-1779. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1780-1800. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1801-1819. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1820-1839. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1840-1859. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1860-1879. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1880-1899. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1900-1919. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1920-1939. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1940-1959. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1960-1979. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1980-1999. ... This is an list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 2000 to the present. ... This is a list of Acts of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is a list of Acts passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland. ... This is a list of Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly passed by that body during its existence between 2000 and 2002 when it was suspended. ... The is a list of Orders in Council for Northern Ireland which are primary legislation for the province when the it is being directly ruled from London and also for those powers not devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... Statutory Instruments (SIs) are parts of United Kingdom law separate from Acts of Parliament which do not require full Parliamentary approval before becoming law. ... In Westminster System parliaments, an Act of Parliament is a part of the law passed by the Parliament. ... David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor, OM, PC (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was a British statesman who guided Britain and the Commonwealth of Nations through World War I and the postwar settlement as the Liberal Party Prime Minister, 1916-1922. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

History

The British railway system had been built up by more than 100 railway companies, large and small, and often, particularly locally, in competition with each other. The parallel railways of the East Midlands, and the "war" between the South Eastern Railway and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway at Hastings were examples of such local competition. The United Kingdom consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and previously consisted of Great Britain and the whole of Ireland. ... The London and Greenwich Railway (LGR), together with the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway (CWR) in East Kent were the earliest railways to serve the then county of Kent: eventually both became parts of the South Eastern Railway (SER). ... The LB&SCRs coat of arms, displayed above the entrance to Gipsy Hill railway station. ...

During World War I the railways were under state control, which continued until 1921. Complete nationalisation had been considered, and the 1921 Act is sometimes considered as a precursor to that, but the concept was rejected; nationalisation was subsequently carried out after World War II, under the Transport Act 1947. Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nikolay II Aleksey Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert H. Asquith D. Lloyd George Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Transport Act, 1947 was part of the nationalisation agenda of Clement Attlees Labour government. ...

After consideration of the Railways Bill it was decided that the Scottish companies, originally destined to be a separate group, would be included with the Midland/North Western and Eastern groups respectively, in order that the three main Anglo-Scottish trunk routes should each be owned by one company for its full length: the West Coast Main Line and the Midland Main Line by the former group, and the East Coast Main Line by the latter. The WCML running alongside the M1 motorway at Watford Gap in Northamptonshire A Virgin Pendolino and freight train on the WCML The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important intercity railway lines in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system. ... The Midland Main Line is a main railway line in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system. ... The East Coast Main Line viaduct at Durham. ...

The opening paragraph of the Railways Act 1921 states:

"With a view to the reorganisation and more efficient and economical working of the railway system of Great Britain railways shall be formed into groups in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and the principal railway companies in each group shall be amalgamated, and other companies absorbed in manner provided by this Act."

The Act took effect on 1 January 1923. By that date most of the mergers had taken place, some from the previous year. The Railway Magazine in its issue of February 1923 dubbed the new companies as "The Big Four of the New Railway Era". January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... {{year nav|1939 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...

These "Big Four" were:

• London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS)
• Great Western Railway (GWR)
• London and North Eastern Railway (LNER)
• Southern Railway (SR)

See also a list of railway companies involved in the 1923 grouping. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS1) was a British railway company. ... The original Bristol Temple Meads station, first terminus of the GWR, is the building to the left of this picture The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company, linking South West England, the West Country and South Wales with London. ... LNER timetable for Autumn 1926 detailing the resumption of services after the General Strike. ... The Southern Railway in the United Kingdom was geographically the smallest of the four railway systems created in the Grouping ordered by the Railways Act 1921. ... Under the Railways Act 1921 the majority of the railway companies in Great Britain (and few in Northern Ireland) were grouped into four main companies, often termed the Big Four: the grouping took effect from 1 January 1923. ...

A few lines remained outside the Big Four, many operated as joint railways. Examples include the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GN) between the LMS and the LNER in eastern England, the largest of the joint railways; and the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJ) between the LMS and the SR in south-western England, perhaps the most famous of the joint railways. Other exempted railways were light railways under the Light Railways Act 1896 and similar lines; although some such lines still chose to join the Groups. Those lines staying independant were principally those under the influence of Holman Fred Stephens, who had been instrumental in securing the necessary exemption. M&GNJR Badge The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GN) was a joint railway owned by the Midland Railway (MR) and the Great Northern Railway (GNR) in eastern England. ... The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS1) was a British railway company. ... LNER timetable for Autumn 1926 detailing the resumption of services after the General Strike. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) was an English railway company jointly owned by the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway. ... The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS1) was a British railway company. ... The Southern Railway in the United Kingdom was geographically the smallest of the four railway systems created in the Grouping ordered by the Railways Act 1921. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... The Light Railways Act 1896 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom defined a class of railways with the intention of enabling development of such railways without legislation specific to each line. ... Holman Fred Stephens (1868-1931) ran a group of minor railways in England and Wales known as the Colonel Stephens Railways. ...

External links

• View the text of the Act
• Some historical opinion articles from the University of York