List of constituents of the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway
	Logo of the Great Western Railway, incorporating the shields, crests and mottoes of the cities of London (left) and Bristol (right)
	Map of the railway pre-grouping (1920)
	Map of the railway post-grouping (1926)
History
1835	Act of incorporation
1838	First train ran
1869–92	7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) Brunel gauge; changed to; 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
1903	Start of road motor services
1923	Keeps identity though the Grouping
1935	Centenary
1948	Nationalised
Successor organisation
1948	British Rail, Western Region
1854	See full list of constituents of the GWR
Constituent companies
	See full list of constituents of the GWR
1854	Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway; Shrewsbury and Chester Railway
1862	South Wales Railway
1863	West Midland Railway
1876	Bristol and Exeter Railway; South Devon Railway
1889	Cornwall Railway
1922	Rhymney Railway; Taff Vale Railway; Cambrian Railways
1923	Midland & S W Junction Railway
Key locations
Headquarters	Paddington station, London
Locale	England; Wales
Workshops	Swindon; Wolverhampton
Major stations	Birmingham Snow Hill; Bristol Temple Meads; Cardiff General; London Paddington; Reading General
1841	Mileage shown as at end of year stated
Route mileage
	Mileage shown as at end of year stated
1841	171 miles (275 km)
1863	1,106 miles (1,780 km)
1876	2,023 miles (3,256 km)
1899	2,504 miles (4,030 km)
1919	2,996 miles 68 chains (4,823.0 km)
1921	3,005 miles (4,836 km)
1924	3,797 miles (6,111 km)
1925	3,819 miles 69 chains (6,147.5 km)
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The Great Western Railway (GWR) was incorporated by an act of Parliament in 1835 and nationalised on 1 January 1948. During this time it amalgamated with, or purchased outright, many other railway companies. These are listed here in two groups. The early amalgamations (mostly between 1843 and 1900) often involved railway companies that were already being financially supported by the GWR. The Railways Act 1921 brought many new companies into the fold including many successful Welsh lines.

List key

Company which amalgmated into the GWR (date of amalgamation)
- Prior amalgmation into the above company

♠ – Companies that were already operated by or leased to the GWR or one of the other absorbed railways before amalgamation. Note: This list is incomplete.

‡ – Companies operating wholly or partly on the 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) broad gauge at the time that they combined with the GWR. The broad gauge was finally abandoned on 21 May 1892.

§ – Railways which were amalgamated before they opened to traffic.

Early amalgamations and purchases

Railways Act 1921

The Railways Act 1921 provided for the compulsory amalgamation of many of Britain's railways. 27 of the larger railways (termed "Constituent Companies" by the act) would amalgamate on or before 1 January 1923 to create four larger railways (termed "Amalgamated Companies"). About 100 of the smaller railways (termed "Subsidiary Companies") would be absorbed by either the Constituent Companies or the Amalgamated Companies. In what was termed the "Western Group", the Constituent Companies were:

Alexandra (Newport and South Wales) Docks and Railway 10+1⁄2 miles (17 km)
Barry Railway 68 miles (109 km)
Cambrian Railways 295+1⁄4 miles (472 km)
Cardiff Railway 11+3⁄4 miles (19 km)
Great Western Railway
Rhymney Railway 51 miles (82 km)
Taff Vale Railway 124+1⁄2 miles (199 km)

These amalgamated on 1 January 1922, and the company continued to use the name Great Western Railway, and its new board of directors included representatives from all seven of the constituent companies. There was no board representation for the Subsidiary Companies, which were:

Brecon and Merthyr Railway (1 July 1922) 59+3⁄4 miles (97 km)
Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway (1 July 1922) 21 miles (34 km)
Cleobury, Mortimer and Ditton Priors Railway (1 January 1922) 12 miles (19 km)
Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (1923) 42+3⁄4 miles (68 km) ♠
Exeter Railway 8+3⁄4 miles (14 km) ♠
Forest of Dean Central Railway 5 miles (8 km) ♠
Gwendraeth Valley Railways (1 January 1923) 3 miles (5 km) ♠
Lampeter, Aberayron and New Quay Light Railway 12 miles (19 km) ♠
Liskeard and Looe Railway 9 miles (14 km) ♠
Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway (1 January 1923) 13 miles (21 km)
Mawddwy Light Railway ♠
Midland and South Western Junction Railway (1 July 1923) 63+1⁄4 miles (101 km)
Neath and Brecon Railway (1 July 1922)
Penarth Extension Railway 1+3⁄4 miles (3 km) ♠
Penarth Harbour, Dock and Railway 9+3⁄4 miles (16 km) ♠
Port Talbot Railway (1 January 1922) 35 miles (56 km)
Princetown Railway (1922) 10+1⁄2 miles (17 km)
Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway (1 January 1922) 29 miles (46 km) ♠
Ross and Monmouth Railway 12+1⁄2 miles (20 km) ♠
South Wales Mineral Railway 13 miles (21 km) ♠
Teign Valley Railway 7+3⁄4 miles (12 km) ♠
Vale of Glamorgan Railway 20+3⁄4 miles (33 km) ♠
Van Railway ♠
Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway ♠
West Somerset Railway (1922) 14+1⁄2 miles (23 km) ♠
Wrexham and Ellesmere Railway ♠

After the grouping, two organisations voluntarily sold their operations and locomotives to the GWR. Both of these worked the railways of Swansea Docks:

Swansea Harbour Trust (1 July 1923)
Powlesland and Mason (contractors at Swansea Docks) (1 January 1924)

Later, the GWR purchased the Corris Railway from the Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company Ltd, together with associated road services and vehicles.^[6]

Corris Railway (4 August 1930)

References

^ MacDermot, E T (1927). "Appendix 1". History of the Great Western Railway, volume I 1833-1863. London: Great Western Railway. Reprinted 1982, Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-0411-0
^ MacDermot, E T (1931). "Appendix 1". History of the Great Western Railway, volume II 1863-1921. London: Great Western Railway. Reprinted 1982, Ian Allan, ISBN 0-711004-12-9
^ "A brief review of the Company's hundred years of business". Great Western Railway Magazine. 47 (9). Great Western Railway: 495–499. 1935.
^ The Railway Year Book for 1920. London: The Railway Publishing Company Limited. 1920. p. 154.
^ The Railway Year Book for 1926. London: The Railway Publishing Company Limited. 1926. pp. 154–172.
^ Cozens, Lewis (1972) [1949]. The Corris Railway. Leicester: The Corris Railway Society. p. 27.

The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, Part 3: Absorbed Engines 1854-1921. The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. 1956.
Ottley, George (1983). A Bibliography of British Railway History (2nd ed.). London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. p. 475. ISBN 0112903347.