The Family Tree of British Railway Companies

by
Chris Lawson
15th August 1997

This is a compiled chart of major British railway companies, it intends to show how each of them formed and expanded during their lifetime before the Grouping in 1923. Currently it is only about 40% complete.

Great Western Group

Great Western Railway

                   North Wales Mineral 1844_
                                            |
         Shrewsbury, Oswestry & Chester 1845|
                                            |
                      Shewsbury & Chester1846_______
                                                    |
                  Shewsbury & Birmingham 1846_______|
                                                    |
                Great Western & Uxbridge 1846       |
                                             |      |
Cheltenham &                   Oxford 1843   |      |
           Great Western Union 1836_______|  |      |
                                          |  |      |
                GREAT WESTERN 1835________|__|______|______>GWR 1923
                                            | |
                         Oxford & Rugby 1845| |
                                              |
                     Birmingham & Oxford 1846_|
      Birmingham, Wolverhampton & Dudley 1846_|

London, Midland & Scottish Railway Group

London & North Western Railway

     Bolton & Leigh 1825___________________ 
Liverpool&Manchester 1826__________________|
Kenyon & Leigh Junction 1829_______________|
                Chester & Crewe 1837__     |
    Warrington & Newton 1829____      |    |
             Grand Junction 1833|_____|____|
                                            |
          Warwick & Leamington Union 1842   |
        London & Birmingham 1833_________|__|
                           Trent Valley 1845|
        Manchester & Birmingham 1837________|
                                            |
                     Aylesbury 1836_________|
                                Bedford 1845|
                      Rugby & Leamington 1846
                                            |
                  LONDON & NORTH WESTERN 1846______________>LMS 1923

Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway

 Ashton, Stalybridge & Liverpool Junc. 1844__
          Wakefield, Pontefract & Goole 1845_|
                                             |
                         West Yorkshire 1845 |
           Leeds & West Riding Junction 1845||
                                            ||
                       West Riding Union 1846|
                                            ||
Manchester, Bolton & Bury 1831______________||
     Preston & Wyre Rw & Dock 1835__________||
 Preston & Wyre Rw Harbour & Dock 1839______||
                       Liverpool & Bury 1845||
      Huddersfield & Sheffield Junction 1845||
                                            ||
            Manchester & Leeds 1836_________||
                                             |
                   LANCASHIRE & YORKSHIRE 1847_____________>LMS 1923

Midland Railway

Ticknall Tramway (1794)
Gloucester & Cheltenham Tramway (1809)
Leicester & Swannington 1830
             Bristol & Gloucester 1839____
       Bristol &                          |
       Gloucestershire 1828_______________|_
                                            |
              Midland Counties 1836_______  |
                 North Midland 1836_______| |
                                          | |
   Birmingham & Derby Junction 1836_______| |
                                  |       | |
                   Stonebridge 1836       | |
                                          | |
                               MIDLAND 1844_|______________>LMS 1923
                                           |
         Sheffield & Rotherham 1836 _______|
                                           |
                  Syston & Peterborough 1845

Furness Railway

                               FURNESS 1844________________>LMS 1923

Caledonian Railway

    Glasgow, Paisley & Greenock 1837_________
                                             |
  Garnkirk & Glasgow 1826__________________  |
                                           | |
        Glasgow, Garnkirk & Coatbridge 1844| |
                                           | |
                             CALEDONIAN 1845_|_____________>LMS 1923
                                            |  |
                    Clydesdale Junction 1845|  |
          Polloc & Govan 1830_______________|  |
                                               |
      Wishaw & Coltness 1829___________________|

Glasgow & South Western Railway

                      Ayrshire & Galloway 1847_____
                                                   |
                            Ayr & Dalmellington 1853____
Ardrossan & Johnstone 1827__________________________    |
                                                    |   |
            Glasgow, Dumfries & Carlisle 1846___    |   |
   Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock 1837____________|   |   |
   & Ayr                                        |   |   |
                     GLASGOW & SOUTH WESTERN 1850___|___|__>LMS 1923
                                                  |
            Paisley & Renfrew 1835________________|

Highland Railway

                                 Perth & Dunkeld 1854_________
                                                              |
                             Inverness & Perth Junction 1861__|
                                                              |
                                             Findhorn 1859__  |
                                                            | |
                                Inverness & Ross-shire 1860_| |
                                                            | |
                     Inverness & Aberdeen Junction 1856_____|_| 
                                                           |   |
                               Inverness & Nairn 1854______|   |
                                                               |
                                                   HIGHLAND 1865_____>LMS 1923

London & North Eastern Railway Group

North Eastern Railway

          East & West Yorkshire Junction 1846____
         Whitby & Pickering 1833___________      |
           Leeds & Selby 1830_____________ |     |
                                          ||     |
          York & North Midland 1836_______||_____|__
                                                    |
                         Leeds & Thirsk 1845_____   |
                                                 |  |
                               Leeds Northern 1851__|
                                                    |
              Pontop & South Shields 1842___        |
             Stanhope & Tyne 1834_______|   |       |
                                            |       |
             Durham Junction 1834_________  |       |
            Brandling Junction 1836_______| |       |
                                          | |       |
     Newcastle & Darlington Junction 1842_|_|       |
Tanfiel Wagonway (1632)___________________| |       |
                                            |       |
                        York & Newcastle 1846       |
         Durham & Sunderland 1834___________||      |
                                             |      |
                    Newcastle & Berwick 1845_|      |
     Newcastle & North Shields 1836________| |      |
                                             |      |
                York, Newcastle & Berwick 1847______|
                                                |   |
        Great North of England 1836_____________|   |
                                                    |
                                   NORTH EASTERN 1854________________>LNER 1923
                                                    |       ||
                      Malton & Driffield 1846_______|       ||
   Newcastle & Carlisle 1829________________________________||
     Stockton & 1821_________________________________________|
     Darlington

North British Railway

Tranent & Cockenzie Wagonway (1722)_________
                                            |
                         NORTH BRITISH 1844_|________________________>LNER 1923
                                           |
Edinburgh & Dalkeith 1826__________________|
                     Edinburgh & Hawick 1845

Great North Of Scotland Railway

                         Banff, Macduff & Turriff 1855__
                                                        |
                                  Aberdeen & Turriff 1859_______
                          Inverurie & Old Meldrum 1855__________|
                                                                |
                 GREAT NORTH OF SCOTLAND 1846___________________|____>LNER 1923

Great Northern Railway

                     Bradford, Wakefield & Leeds 1854________ 
                                                             |
                                           West Yorkshire 1863_
            Leeds, Bradford & Halifax Junction 1852____________|
                                                               |
                      Hertford & Welwyn Junction 1854___       |
               Luton, Dunstable & Welwyn Junction 1855__|      |
                                                        |      |
                         Hertford, Luton & Dunstable 1858__    |
                                                           |   |
                          GREAT NORTHERN 1846______________|___|_____>LNER 1923
                                                              |
           Boston, Sleaford & Midlands Counties 1853__________|
                                 Bourne & Essendine 1857______|

Great Central Railway

  Sheffield,
  Ashton-under-Lyne& Manchester 1837_________
     Great Grimsby & Sheffield Junction 1845_|
       Sheffield & Lincolnshire Junction 1846|
      Sheffield & Lincolnshire Extension 1846|
                                             |
     Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire 1847_________________________________________________
                                             |                                                 |
 Manchester South Junction & Altrincham 1845_|                                GREAT CENTRAL 1897________________>LNER 1923
                                             |
              Manchester & Lincoln Union 1846|

Great Eastern Railway

          East Union & Hadleigh Junction 1846
              Ipswich & Bury St Edmunds 1845_|
                                             |
                         Eastern Union 1844__|______________
                                                            |
                     Norwich & Brandon 1844                 |
                  Yarmouth & Norwich 1842__|                |
                                           |                |
                                Norfolk 1845________________|
                                                            |
                             Lynn & Ely 1845_               |
                         Lynn & Dereham 1845_|              |
                       Ely & Huntingdon 1845_|              |
                                             |              |
                             East Anglian 1847______________|
                                                            |
                               Lowestoft & Beecles 1856_    |
                              Yarmouth & Haddiscoe 1856_|   |
                                                        |   |
                 Halesworth, Beccles & Haddiscoe 1854   |   |
                                                    |   |   |
                                    East Suffolf 1854___|   |
                                                         |  |
       Newmarket & New Great Chesterford 1846            |  |
                                             |           |  |
                                Newmarket 1847______     |  |
                                                    |    |  |
   Wisbech, St Ives & Cambridge Junction 1846       |    |  |
                         North Woolwich 1845_|      |    |  |
    Eastern Counties & Thames Junction 1844__|      |    |  |
                                             |      |    |  |
              Eastern Counties 1836__________|______|____|__|
                                            | |             |
              Maldon, Witham & Braintree 1846 |             |
                                              |             |
            Lowestoft Rialway & Harbour 1845__|             |
                                                            |
                                           GREAT EASTERN 1862________>LNER 1923
                                                            ||
                                Wells & Fakenham 1854_______||
                               Waveney Valley 1851___________|

Southern Railway Group

London, Brighton & South Coast Railway

                       Croydon & Epsom 1844
                                          |
             London & Croydon 1835________|_
                                            |
              London & Brighton 1837________|
                                    |       |
Croydon, Merstham & Godstone (1803)_|       |
                                            |
          LONDON, BRIGHTON & SOUTH COAST 1846________________________>SR 1923
                                            |
                 Brighton & Chichestor 1844_|
            Brighton, Lewes & Hastings 1844_|

South Eastern Railway

                                        Charing Cross 1859____
                                        Caterham 1854____     |
            Reading, Guildford & Reigate 1846_____       |    |
                                                  |      |    |
      London, Deptford & Dover 1836               |      |    |
                                  |               |      |    |
                 SOUTH EASTERN 1836_______________|______|____|______>SR 1923
                                            |      |
Canterbury        Gravesend & Rochester 1845|      |
       & Whitstable 1825___________________________|

London, Chatham & Dover Railway

                              Herne Bay & Faversham 1857_
                                                         |
                                              Margate 1859_
                                                           |
                                             Kent Coast 1861_________
                         Sittingbourne & Sheerness 1856________      |
                                      East Kent 1853_____      |     |
                                                         |     |     |
                              LONDON, CHATHAM & DOVER 1859_____|_____|_________>SR 1923
                                                                |        |
                          Mid-Kent & North Kent 1853____________|        |
                 Crystal Palace & South London Junction 1861_____________|

London & South Western Railway

         Windsor, Staines & South Western 1847
               Southampton & Dorchester 1845__|
                                              |
                    Guildford Junction 1844   |
                                           |  |
        London & Southampton 1834____      |  |
                                     |     |  |
           LONDON & SOUTH WESTERN 1839_____|__|______________________>SR 1923
                                             | |  |
                               Richmond 1845_| |  |
                  Basingstoke & Salibury 1846__|  |
                                                  |
                             London Necropolis 1852

London Passenger Transport Board Constituents

Metropolitan Railway

                             North Metropolitan 1853
                                                    |
                                    METROPLOITAN 1854________________>LPTB 1933
                                                                 |
                                     Hammersmith & City 1861_____|

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This page is maintained by Chris Lawson (chris.lawson@virgin.net)
Last Updated 19th August 1997