GWR, LMS, LNER and SR: 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.