List of railway companies involved in the 1923 grouping

Under the Railways Act 1921

Railways Act 1921

The Railways Act 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 majority of the railway companies in Great Britain (along with a few in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

) were grouped into four main companies, often termed the Big Four

Big Four British railway companies

The Big Four was a name used to describe the four largest railway companies in the United Kingdom in the period 1923-1947. The name was coined by the Railway Magazine in its issue of February 1923: "The Big Four of the New Railway Era".The Big Four were:...

. The grouping took effect from 1 January 1923.

The Big Four

Big Four British railway companies

and their constituent companies, showing route mileage, were:

Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

(GWR)
- Great Western Railway
  Great Western Railway
  The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
  
  3005 miles (4,836.1 km)
- Alexandra (Newport & S Wales) Docks & Railway (ADR) 10.5 miles (16.9 km)
- Barry Railway (Barry) 68 miles (109.4 km)
- Cambrian Railways
  Cambrian Railways
  Cambrian Railways owned of track over a large area of mid-Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904...
  
  (Cambrian) 295.25 miles (475.2 km)
- Cardiff Railway
  Cardiff Railway
  The Cardiff Railway came into being from the need to service Bute Docks, so as to provide facilities for the traffic to and from the Docks. The railway was only 11 miles in length, a fact which belied its importance, since it provided both the Taff Vale Railway and the Rhymney Railway, inter alia,...
  
  (Cardiff) 11.75 miles (18.9 km)
- Rhymney Railway
  Rhymney Railway
  The Rhymney Railway was virtually a single stretch of main line, some fifty miles in length, by which the Rhymney Valley was connected to the docks at Cardiff in the county of Glamorgan, South Wales.-History:...
  
  (RhyR) 51 miles (82.1 km)
- Taff Vale Railway
  Taff Vale Railway
  The Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
  
  (TVR) 124.5 miles (200.4 km)
  - for the list of subsidiary companies and joint railways see List of constituents of the Great Western Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...

(LNER)
- Great Central Railway
  Great Central Railway
  The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
  
  (GCR) 852.5 miles (1,372 km)
- Great Eastern Railway
  Great Eastern Railway
  The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
  
  (GER) 1191.25 miles (1,917.1 km)
- Great Northern Railway
  Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
  The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
  
  (GNR) 1051.25 miles (1,691.8 km)
- Hull and Barnsley Railway
  Hull and Barnsley Railway
  The Hull Barnsley & West Riding Junction Railway and Dock Company was opened on 20 July 1885. It had a total projected length of 66 miles but never reached Barnsley, stopping a few miles short at Stairfoot. The name was changed to The Hull and Barnsley Railway in 1905...
  
  106.5 miles (171.4 km)
- North Eastern Railway
  North Eastern Railway (UK)
  The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...
  
  1757.75 miles (2,828.8 km)
- Great North of Scotland Railway
  Great North of Scotland Railway
  The Great North of Scotland Railway was one of the smaller Scottish railways before the grouping, operating in the far north-east of the country. It was formed in 1845 and received its Parliamentary approval on June 26, 1846, following over two years of local meetings...
  
  334.5 miles (538.3 km)
- North British Railway
  North British Railway
  The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.-History:...
  
  1378 miles (2,217.7 km)
  - for the list of subsidiary companies and joint railways see List of constituents of the London and North Eastern Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...

(LMS)
- London and North Western Railway
  London and North Western Railway
  The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
  
  (LNWR); 2667.5 miles (4268 km)
  - including Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
    Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
    The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
    
    (L&YR) amalgamated from 1 January 1922
- Furness Railway
  Furness Railway
  The Furness Railway was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.-History:The company was established on May 23, 1844 when the Furness Railway Act was passed by Parliament...
  
  (Furness); 158 miles (253 km)
- Midland Railway
  Midland Railway
  The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
  
  (MR) 2170.75 miles (3473 km)
- North Staffordshire Railway
  North Staffordshire Railway
  The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....
  
  (NSR) 220.75 miles (253 km)
- Caledonian Railway
  Caledonian Railway
  The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century and it was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways Act 1921...
  
  (CalR) 1114.5 miles (1783 km)
- Glasgow and South Western Railway
  Glasgow and South Western Railway
  The Glasgow and South Western Railway , one of the pre-grouping railway companies, served a triangular area of south-west Scotland, between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle...
  
  (GSWR) 493.5 miles (790 km)
- Highland Railway
  Highland Railway
  The Highland Railway was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921; it operated north of Perth railway station in Scotland and served the farthest north of Britain...
  
  (HR) 506 miles (807 km)
  - for the list of subsidiary companies and joint railways see List of constituents of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
  - Irish Lines absorbed by the LMS were:
    - Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway(DNGR) 26.5 miles (42.6 km)
    - Northern Counties Committee
      Northern Counties Committee
      The Northern Counties Committee was a railway that served the north-east of Ireland. It was built to Irish gauge but later acquired a number of narrow gauge lines...
      
      lines (NCC(I)) 265.25 miles (426.9 km)
    - Joint Midland and Great Northern Railway (Ireland)
      Great Northern Railway (Ireland)
      The Great Northern Railway was an Irish gauge railway company in Ireland.The Great Northern was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway , Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. The Ulster Railway was the GNRI's oldest constituent, having opened between Belfast and...
      
      lines (JtMGNR(I))
Southern Railway (SR)
- London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
  London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
  The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...
  
  (LBSCR) 457.25 miles (735.9 km)
- London and South Western Railway
  London and South Western Railway
  The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
  
  (LSWR) 1020.5 miles (1,642.3 km)
- South Eastern and Chatham Railways' Managing Committee
  South Eastern and Chatham Railway
  The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee , known by its shorter name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway , that operated services between...
  
  : a working union of the South Eastern Railway
  South Eastern Railway (UK)
  The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
  
  and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
  London, Chatham and Dover Railway
  The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London...
  
  637.75 miles (1,026.4 km)
  - for the list of subsidiary companies and joint railways see List of constituent companies of the Southern Railway

Companies not covered by the Grouping

Over fifty railway companies were not covered by the Grouping. Those in the following list were those organised on an independent basis, usually providing locomotives and rolling stock also. They are included under classification headings.

Joint Railways

Joint Lines in this respect were wholly owned by two or more other companies. If not all of the owning companies went into the same group then the joint company could not be grouped. Joint lines did not always operate any services: they owned the track, stations etc. and the services were operated by one or more of the parent companies:

These are those in which the Group companies only are concerned:
- Cheshire Lines Committee
  Cheshire Lines Committee
  The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
  
  : (GNR
  Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
  The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
  
  , Midland
  Midland Railway
  The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
  
  and GCR
  Great Central Railway
  The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
  
  ); now operated under direction of a board of directors appointed by LNER (2/3) and LMS (1/3). Length 142 miles (227 km) Rolling stock owned by CLC; locomotive power by LNER.
- Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway
  Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway
  The Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway was a joint venture supported by the Great Western Railway and Great Central Railway and run by the Great Western and Great Central Joint Committee. The original arrangement was agreed between the two companies in September 1898...
  
  : GWR
  Great Western Railway
  The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
  
  and GCR
  Great Central Railway
  The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
  
  ; subsequent to the Grouping the parent companies were the GWR and the LNER
  London and North Eastern Railway
  The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
  
  , but the title was not altered.
- Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway
  Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway
  The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway was a suburban railway which operated a 13.7 km route between Altrincham in Cheshire and London Road Station in Manchester....
  
  : LNWR
  London and North Western Railway
  The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
  
  and GCR
  Great Central Railway
  The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
  
  ; subsequent to the Grouping the parent companies were the LMS
  London, Midland and Scottish Railway
  The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
  
  and the LNER
  London and North Eastern Railway
  The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
  
  .
- Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
  Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
  The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, was a joint railway owned by the Midland Railway and the Great Northern Railway in eastern England, affectionately known as the 'Muddle and Get Nowhere' to generations of passengers, enthusiasts, and other users.The main line ran from Peterborough to...
  
  : (Midland
  Midland Railway
  The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
  
  and GNR
  Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
  The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
  
  ; subsequent to the Grouping the parent companies were the LMS
  London, Midland and Scottish Railway
  The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
  
  and the LNER
  London and North Eastern Railway
  The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
  
  ). Length 183 miles (293 km). This was the largest joint system in the UK, and many of the services were operated by the joint company itself. In addition, it received substantial traffic from the GNR and MR/LMS, but rather less post-Grouping from the LNER (which also owned the competing ex-GER
  Great Eastern Railway
  The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
  
  system in East Anglia).
- Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
  Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
  The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Bournemouth now in south east Dorset but then in Hampshire...
  
  : (Midland
  Midland Railway
  The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
  
  and LSWR
  London and South Western Railway
  The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
  
  ) Length 105 miles (168 km)
Joint lines where one or more partners were ungrouped:
- Aylesbury Station
  Aylesbury railway station
  Aylesbury railway station is a railway station in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England and is a major stop on the London to Aylesbury Line from Marylebone station via Amersham. It is 37.75 miles from Aylesbury Station to Marylebone Station...
  
  : joint between the GW & GC Joint
  Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway
  The Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway was a joint venture supported by the Great Western Railway and Great Central Railway and run by the Great Western and Great Central Joint Committee. The original arrangement was agreed between the two companies in September 1898...
  
  and the Metropolitan and Great Central Joint Committee
- East London Railway
  East London Line
  The East London Line is a London Overground line which runs north to south through the East End, Docklands and South areas of London.Built in 1869 by the East London Railway Company, which reused the Thames Tunnel, originally intended for horse-drawn carriages, the line became part of the London...
  
  : prior to Grouping, this railway was owned one-sixth each by the Great Eastern Railway
  Great Eastern Railway
  The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
  
  , London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
  London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
  The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...
  
  , Metropolitan Railway
  Metropolitan railway
  Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
  
  , Metropolitan District Railway
  Metropolitan District Railway
  The Metropolitan District Railway was the predecessor of the District line of the London Underground. Set up on 29 July 1864, at first to complete the "Inner Circle" railway around central London, it was gradually extended into the suburbs...
  
  ; and one-third by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway
  South Eastern and Chatham Railway
  The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee , known by its shorter name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway , that operated services between...
  
  (as successors to the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
  London, Chatham and Dover Railway
  The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London...
  
  and South Eastern Railway
  South Eastern Railway (UK)
  The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
  
  , who had owned one-sixth each). After Grouping, it was owned half by the Southern
  Southern Railway (Great Britain)
  The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
  
  , and one-sixth each by the LNER
  London and North Eastern Railway
  The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
  
  , Metropolitan and District. Length 5 miles (8 km). Managed and operated by Met; goods traffic by LNER.
- Metropolitan and Great Central Joint Committee: prior to Grouping, owned by the Metropolitan Railway
  Metropolitan railway
  Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
  
  and GCR
  Great Central Railway
  The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
  
  ; post-Grouping, Metropolitan and LNER.

Electric or electric and steam lines

Railways associated with the Underground Electric Railways Company of London
Underground Electric Railways Company of London
The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited , known operationally as The Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an underground railway constructed in a circular tunnel by the use...

(the precursor of the London Passenger Transport Board
London Passenger Transport Board
The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport in London, UK, and its environs from 1933 to 1948...

(LPTB)):
- Central London Railway
  Central London Railway
  The Central London Railway , also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railway that opened in London in 1900...
  
  : 7 miles (11 km). Trains worked through to Ealing
  Ealing
  Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
  
  over the Ealing and Shepherd's Bush Railway (GWR)
- City and South London Railway: 7.25 miles (12 km)
- London Electric Railway
  Underground Electric Railways Company of London
  The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited , known operationally as The Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an underground railway constructed in a circular tunnel by the use...
  
  : 24 miles (38 km): amalgamation of the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway
  Baker Street and Waterloo Railway
  The Baker Street and Waterloo Railway , also known as the Bakerloo tube, was a railway company established in 1893 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London...
  
  , Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway
  Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway
  The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway , also known as the Piccadilly tube, was a railway company established in 1902 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London. The GNP&BR was formed through a merger of two older companies, the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus...
  
  and Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway
- Metropolitan District Railway
  Metropolitan District Railway
  The Metropolitan District Railway was the predecessor of the District line of the London Underground. Set up on 29 July 1864, at first to complete the "Inner Circle" railway around central London, it was gradually extended into the suburbs...
  
  27.75 miles (44 km)
Other electric/steam railways:
- Liverpool Overhead Railway
  Liverpool Overhead Railway
  The Liverpool Overhead Railway was the world's first electrically operated overhead railway. The railway was carried mainly on iron viaducts, with a corrugated iron decking, onto which the tracks were laid. It ran close to the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, following the line of Liverpool Docks...
  
  6.5 miles (10 km)
- Mersey Railway
  Mersey Railway
  The Mersey Railway connected Liverpool and Birkenhead, England, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel under the River Mersey. Opened in 1886, it was the second oldest urban underground railway network in the world. The railway contained the first tunnel built under the River Mersey. It was constructed by...
  
  4.75 miles (8 km)
- Metropolitan Railway
  Metropolitan railway
  Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
  
  : steam and electric 65.75 miles (105 km)

Light and similar railways (standard gauge)

Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway
Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway
The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway was most unusual amongst British railways in that although it was built as a standard gauge line, it was not joined to the rest of the railway network, despite the London and South Western Railway having a station at Bideford East-the-Water, just...

7 miles (11.3 km) closed at time of Grouping
Bishops Castle Railway
Bishops Castle Railway
The Bishops Castle Railway was begun in 1861, planned as a line from Craven Arms to Montgomery, thus linking the Shrewsbury to Hereford line to the Oswestry to Newtown, Powys line , linking Mid-Wales and Shrewsbury, with a branch line from Lydham to Bishop's Castle.From the start, the railway was...

9.75 miles (16 km)
Corringham Light Railway
Corringham Light Railway
The Corringham Light Railway served the town Corringham, Essex, England. It was incorporated on 10 July 1899 and opened to freight on 1 January 1901 and to passengers on 22 June 1901...

2.75 miles (4 km)
Derwent Valley Light Railway
Derwent Valley Light Railway
The Derwent Valley Light Railway was a privately-owned standard-gauge railway running from Layerthorpe on the outskirts of York to Cliffe Common near Selby in North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1913, and closed in sections between 1965 and 1981...

16 miles (26 km)
Easingwold Railway
Easingwold Railway
The Easingwold Railway was a two and a half mile long branch line from Alne Station to Easingwold in the Vale of York, England.-History:Although the line was first proposed in 1836 it was not until 23 August 1887 that a consortium of local businessmen formed the Easingwold Railway Company and...

2.5 miles (4 km)
East Kent Railway
East Kent Railway
The East Kent Railway was an early railway operating between Strood and the town of Faversham in Kent England, during 1858 and 1859. In the latter year it changed its name to the London, Chatham and Dover Railway to reflect its ambitions to build a rival line from London to Dover via Chatham and...

: 48 miles (77 km)
Glasgow (Cable) Subway
Glasgow Subway
The Glasgow Subway is an underground metro line in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. Formerly a cable railway, the Subway was later electrified, but its twin circular lines...

: 6.75 miles (11 km)
Hellingly Hospital Railway
Hellingly Hospital Railway
The Hellingly Hospital Railway was a light railway owned and operated by the East Sussex County Council. It was used to deliver coal and passengers to Hellingly Hospital, a psychiatric hospital near Hailsham, via a spur from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway’s Cuckoo Line at Hellingly...

: 1.25 miles (2 km)
Hundred of Manhood and Selsey Tramways 8 miles (13 km) *
Kent & East Sussex Railway: 24 miles (38 km) *
Mumbles Railway: 5.5 miles (9 km)
Nidd Valley Light Railway
Nidd Valley Light Railway
The Nidd Valley Light Railway, was a light railway in upper Nidderdale in North Yorkshire, England. It was owned by Bradford Corporation Waterworks Department and the Corporation also operated its public passenger services...

: 6 miles (10 km) public; 7 miles (11 km) private
North Sunderland Light Railway: 4 miles (6 km)
Rowrah and Kelton Fell Railway
Rowrah and Kelton Fell Railway
The Rowrah and Kelton Fell Railway was a standard gauge mineral railway in Cumberland, England, which was operated by William Baird and Company of Glasgow, Scotland. It opened in 1877 and closed in 1926 .-Route:...

: 3 miles (5 km)
Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway 26 miles (42 km) *
Stocksbridge Railway
Stocksbridge Railway
The Stocksbridge Railway was a subsidiary of Samuel Fox and Company and linked the company's works at Stocksbridge, near Sheffield, South Yorkshire with the main line of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway at Deepcar....

2 miles (3 km)
Swansea Improvements and Tramways Company 18 miles (29 km)
Wantage Tramway
Wantage Tramway
The Wantage Tramway was a two mile tram way that carried passengers and freight between the Oxfordshire town of Wantage, and Wantage Road Station on the Great Western Main Line.-History:...
Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway
Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway
The Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway was conceived and built initially as a tramway to link the three small North Somerset coastal towns of Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon and Portishead in the 1880s.-Overview:...

14.5 miles (23 km)

Light railways (narrow gauge)

Ashover Light Railway
Brighton Electric Railway
Volk's Electric Railway
Volk's Electric Railway is the oldest operating electric railway in the world. It is a narrow gauge railway that runs along a length of the seafront of the English seaside resort of Brighton...

; 2 feet 8.5 inches (825 mm); 1.75 miles (3 km)
Camborne and Redruth Tramway; ; 3.25 miles (5 km)
Campbeltown and Machrihanish Railway; ; 6 miles (10 km)
Corris Railway
Corris Railway
The Corris Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales....

; ; 11 miles (18 km)
Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway
Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway
The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is a minimum gauge heritage railway in Cumbria, England. The line runs from Ravenglass to Dalegarth Station near Boot in the valley of Eskdale, in the Lake District...

; ; 7.25 miles (12 km)
Ffestiniog Railway
Ffestiniog Railway
The Ffestiniog Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park....

; ; 14.5 miles (23 km)
Glyn Valley Railway
Glyn Valley Tramway
The Glyn Valley Tramway was a narrow gauge railway that connected Chirk with Glyn Ceiriog in Denbighshire , Wales. The gauge of the line was...

; 2 feet 4.5 inches (725 mm)
North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways
North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways
The North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways was a gauge railway running from Dinas to Bryngwyn, Wales, which was authorised by Act of Parliament 1872. The same act authorised a branch from Tryfan Junction to South Snowdon...

; ; 12.25 miles (20 km)
Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway
Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway
The Porthmadog, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway was a narrow gauge railway intended to connect Porthmadog with the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways link terminus at Rhyd Ddu...

; ; 4.75 miles (8 km)
Rye and Camber Tramway
Rye and Camber Tramway
The Rye and Camber Tramway was an English narrow gauge railway in East Sussex. It was of gauge. It operated from 1895 until 1939, connecting Rye to the nearby coast at Camber. It was a short line, only about in length, and had three stations - Rye, Golf Links and Camber Sands...

; ; 3 miles (5 km)
Snailbeach District Railways
Snailbeach District Railways
Snailbeach District Railways was a British narrow gauge railway in Shropshire. It was built to carry lead ore from mines in the Stiperstones to Pontesbury where the ore was transshipped to the Great Western Railway's Minsterley branch line. Coal from the Pontesford coal mines travelled in the...

: 2 feet 4 inches (572 mm); 3.25 miles (5 km)
Snowdon Mountain Tramroad
Snowdon Mountain Railway
The Snowdon Mountain Railway is a narrow gauge rack and pinion mountain railway in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is a tourist railway that travels for from Llanberis to the summit of Snowdon, the highest peak in England and Wales....

; ; 5 miles (8 km); rack railway
Southwold Railway
Southwold Railway
- External links :* * * *...

; ; 9 miles (14 km)
Talyllyn Railway
Talyllyn Railway
The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1866 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain...

; ; 6.75 miles (11 km)
Wolverton and Stony Stratford Railway; ; owned by LMSR

Railways outside the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom Parliament

Alderney Railway
Alderney Railway
The Alderney Railway in Alderney is the only working railway in the Channel Islands. It opened in 1847 and runs for about two miles , mostly following a coastal route, from Braye Road to Mannez Quarry and Lighthouse....
Guernsey Railway
Guernsey Railway
The Guernsey Railway opened as the Guernsey Steam Tramway on 6 June 1879 with two steam tram engines, more being added later. It was later converted to an electric tramway, which began working on 20 February 1892. The system closed on 9 June 1934. This leaves Alderney as the only Channel Island...
Isle of Man Railway
Isle of Man Railway
The Isle of Man Railway is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin in the Isle of Man. The line is built to gauge and is long...

; 3 feet (914 mm); 46.25 miles (74 km)
Jersey Eastern Railway
Jersey Eastern Railway
The Jersey Eastern Railway was a railway opened in 1873 in Jersey. The line closed in 1929. It is not to be confused with the Jersey Railway. It was standard gauge....

6.25 miles (10 km)
Jersey Railway and Tramways; 3.5 feet (1067 mm); 7.5 miles (12 km)
Manx Electric Railway
Manx Electric Railway
The Manx Electric Railway is an electric inter-urban tramway connecting Douglas, Laxey and Ramsey in the Isle of Man. It connects with the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway at its southern terminus at Derby Castle at the northern end of the promenade in Douglas, and with the Snaefell Mountain Railway at...

; 3 feet (914 mm); 18 miles (29 km); and 3.5 feet (1067 mm); 5 miles (8 km)

Miscellaneous railways

The railways included in this section were standard gauge, unless otherwise noted:

Felixstowe Docks and Railway length of railway 0.5 mile (0.8 km)
Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...

156 miles (250 km)
Mersey Docks and Harbour Board 104 miles (166 km)
Milford Haven Dock and Railway 1.25 miles (2 km)
Pentewan Railway
Pentewan Railway
The Pentewan Railway was a British narrow gauge railway in Cornwall. It was built as a horse-drawn tramway carrying china clay from St Austell to the harbour at Pentewan. In 1874 the line was rebuilt by engineer John Barraclough Fell and converted to locomotive working, at which time the gauge was...

2.5 foot (0.762 m) gauge (762 mm); 4 miles (6 km); temporarily closed 1923
Trafford Park
Trafford Park
Trafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Located opposite Salford Quays, on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, it is west-southwest of Manchester city centre, and north of Stretford. Until the late 19th century it was the...

: 18 miles (29 km)