List of constituents of British Railways

The following is a list of constituents of British Railways. British Railways was formed by nationalisation on 1 January 1948 in accordance with the Transport Act 1947. It had four major constituents, but there were a number of joint lines between these, and additionally some light railways were taken into the fold. Even then, some light railways were not nationalised.

Major constituents

The major constituents were:

Joint railways

Joint railways between the four major constituents were:

Axholme Joint Railway Committee
Cheshire Lines Committee
Dumbarton and Balloch Joint Railway
Dundee and Arbroath Joint Railway
Forth Bridge Railway Company
Grangemouth Branch Railway
Great Central and Midland Joint Committee
Great Central and North Staffordshire Joint Committee
Great Central and North Western Railways Joint Committee
Great Central, Hull and Barnsley and Midland Committee
Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Committee
Great Western and Great Central Railways Joint Committee
Great Western and Great Central Joint Committee
Halifax and Ovenden Joint Committee
Halifax High Level Joint Committee
London, Midland and Scottish and Great Western Railways Joint Committee
Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway Company
Midland and North Eastern Railway Companies Committee
Mid-Nottinghamshire Joint Railway Committee
Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
Norfolk and Suffolk Joint Railways Committee
Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne and Guide Bridge Junction Railway Company
Otley and Ilkley Joint Line Committee
Severn & Wye Joint Railway
Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
South Yorkshire Joint Line Committee

Joint railways between the four major constituents and others were:

East London Railway Joint Committee
Metropolitan and Great Central Joint Committee
Watford Joint Railway Committee

Minor railways and light railways

Irish railways

Irish railways owned by the LMS were also acquired but the NCC was quickly sold on to the Ulster Transport Authority, the transport unit of the Government of Northern Ireland as a result of the Ireland Act 1949. The Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway closed in 1951.