Constituent Companies

The Railways Act of 1921 brought about the amalgamation of Britain's railways into four large companies, including the London & North Eastern Railway. This process of 'Grouping' took place on 1st January 1923 (Ray Fisher describes the choice of company groupings in his article, Sixes and Sevens: the Big Four and its Alternatives). A number joint lines continued to exist after this date. Small and light railways often survived to be absorbed at a later date. The following pages describe the constituent companies that made up the LNER. Information articles have also been added. Articles for connecting facilities and private branch lines are located according to geographic provenance.

Map of the LNER Railway Network
Click for detailed map

Major Companies

The following companies merged to become the LNER:

Great Central Railway

Great Eastern Railway

Great Northern Railway

Great North of Scotland Railway

Hull & Barnsley Railway

North British Railway

North Eastern Railway

Joint Companies

The LNER partly owned the following joint companies that continued to exist after the Grouping:

Axholme Joint Railway

Cheshire Lines Committee

Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway

East London Railway

Great Western & Great Central Joint Railway

Manchester South Junction & Altrincham Joint Railway

Minor Companies

The LNER also absorbed or managed a number of smaller companies:

Colne Valley & Halstead Railway

East & West Yorkshire Union Railway

Mid-Suffolk Light Railway

North Sunderland Railway