2023 is the centenary of the LMS▸ , SR‡ and LNER» - the Lesser Three of the Big Four - as well as being the 75th anniversary of the creation of British Rail.
In my youth, it was argued that the
GWR▸ of the time was the lesser of the big four as it was the only one that wasn't formed and gained strength as a merger of really big companies. Size wise, LMS and LNER come out on top. SR was low mileage, but had massive passenger traffic and the best skills from SECR, LBSCR, and
LSWR▸ ; perhaps if GWR had been added to the mix we would have had an route equality of size in a big three.
LMS - 7100 route miles
LNER - 6590 route miles
GWR - 3800 route miles
SR - 2186 route miles
From Wikipedia:
Unlike the rest of the Big Four, the Southern Railway was predominantly a passenger railway. Despite its small size it carried more than a quarter of the UK▸ 's total passenger traffic. This is because the area covered by the railway included many of the dense commuter lines around London, as well as serving some of the most densely populated parts of the country.
The LNER hauled more than one-third of Britain's coal, and derived two-thirds of its income from freight services.
The LMS claimed to be the world's largest joint stock organisation, the largest transport organisation, and the largest commercial undertaking in Europe (although they did not say on what basis), including the largest chain of hotels.
The GWR was the only one of the big four to take its name from a predecessor. Its total route length was 3800 miles (6116 km), much of which had been built to handle the coal traffic from south Wales. Though this appeared to be a great coup for the GWR, the coal traffic declined significantly as the use of coal as a naval fuel declined, and within a decade the GWR was itself the largest single user of Welsh coal.
Now that I am older, and in the current times and shorter terms, I see the modern GWR doing rather better than
SWR» ,
TPE▸ or Avanti (from the same stable) - though in a long phone discussion with a knowledgebe friend last night, we concluded "except for Melksham". We queried whether GWR was perceived as better because of better
PR▸ (keeping below the radar at present) with the exception of the awful mess again on the Swindon to Westbury via Melksham service. And we have no intelligence on Hull Trains or Lumo.
