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History of the Big Four - Great Western Railway
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- Опубликовано: 2 июн 2023
- Hello, and welcome to Part 1 of my 4 part series looking at the Four Great Railways of Britain that existed between 1923 and 1948, the LMS, the LNER, the Great Western and the Southern, companies that were formed, and dissolved, through acts of Parliament to try and rationalise the 120 individual railway firms into something more manageable, but even though these operators only lasted a mere 25 years, during that time they left an indelible mark on the face of not only British railway history, but the art-deco culture of the period that continues to resonate globally even to this day.
Part 1 focuses on the Great Western Railway, the main operator of services out of London Paddington to the southwest, Wales and the West Midlands, this company being a continuation of the original and iconic Great Western as formed in the 1830s, that ran along the classic mainline from London to Bristol that had been plotted by the legendary Isambard Kingdom Brunel, but even in the era of the Big Four, the Great Western, while presenting a slew of practical and purposeful looking machines that didn't adopt the same art-deco styling as its rivals, still stood out from the rest by way of its chocolate and cream coaches and Brunswick Green engines, that defined a generation of train travel across the western United Kingdom.
All video content and images in this production have been provided with permission wherever possible. While I endeavour to ensure that all accreditations properly name the original creator, some of my sources do not list them as they are usually provided by other, unrelated RUclipsrs. Therefore, if I have mistakenly put the accreditation of 'Unknown', and you are aware of the original creator, please send me a personal message at my Gmail (this is more effective than comments as I am often unable to read all of them): rorymacveigh@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this video are my personal appraisal and are not the views and opinions of any of these individuals or bodies who have kindly supplied me with footage and images.
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References:
- Railway Wonders of the World (and their respective sources)
- The Great Western Archive (and their respective sources)
- Wikipedia (and its respective references)
Eton college being worried that the pupils will use the railway to visit brothels of London is just the most hilariously Eton thing.
I should think that the college authorities should have been pleased: the alternative being Matron or the other boys.
I remember that fact being mentioned on QI
Instead of the more expensive escorts being provided by the school no doubt..
Was Boris there then?
@@1951GL BJ is but an ink blot in the history pages of the shenanigans that go on in the rarefied passages of Great Britain's great public schools, dear boy.
As Duck would say "There are two ways of doing things, The Great Western Way, or The Wrong Way!"
While I'm mostly a Scottish Railway & LNER fan. I can say with 100% certainty. That the GWR rightfully earned it's nicknames of the "Great Way Round" & "God's Wonderful Railway."
Why hello there
ah i know you your the same scottish atlantic
another well researched history of railways in the uk
That last shot at Dawlish really sent shivers down my spine. Wonderful. Thankyou. There are of course two ways of doing anything:
The Great Western way…
…and the wrong way 😂
GWR = Gresley Was Right 😂
Fun fact: The GWR consulted the construction of the first Railway in the Netherlands.(1830's)
The HIJSM Hollandse IJzeren Spoorweg Maatschappij - (Dutch iron railway companny ) Amsterdam - Haarlem opened in 1835 as s broadgage line with GWR locomotives.
This line called the old line is still in use and has become a 4 track mainline.
Almost a case of "see one, do one, teach one" as they say
The Great Western Railway is probably my favorite rail company anywhere in the world.
I say this as an American.
I frequently wonder what the world would be like if the rail innovators were just given free reign. I wonder if Brunel was right with his 7' gauge. I wonder what travel would be like if railways hadn't closed.
It's great to see you tackling longer-form content; I've thought for ages that multi-part stuff from you would be excellent, and you're not disappointing me at all!
It is amazing how you can pack so much history into such a short amount of time...and narrate it all so clearly and concisely!
From 1956 until 1966 the regions of BR were given a freer rein on how they presented themselves, which is why BR(SR) painted their coaches green and BR(WR) painted some of their coaches, the ones intended for the more prestigious trains, in a form of GWR livery. At the same time they were also allowed to set their own locomotive policy, although they didn't always get their own way. BR(WR) wanted to build wider coaches as they had the room courtesy of Brunel's broad gauge. This was vetoed as these coaches could only have been used on that region and not transferred elsewhere as traffic levels changed, were replaced by newer coaches or used on inter-regional trains.
You can't keep a Great Western Railway down!
Hahaha! Only Beeching managed to succeed. 👍
Very good video yet again, one of the most informative channels I've found on RUclips. As an aside, my late grandfather was batman to Admiral Lord Jellicoe in the Royal Navy.
Lloyd George knew my father!
@@uingaeoc3905 wasn't he in Culture Club 🤔
Batman?
@@mirzaahmed6589 Personal Servant of a British Officer; was also in charge of the officer's "bat-horse" that carried the officer's kit during a campaign. 'Pack Saddle - Old French 'Bat'.
@@mirzaahmed6589 a military valet to officers.
Excellent channel magnificent content especially for us railfans that we come from other countries. Keep up the good and detailed job. Well done.
Quite brilliant yes. 👍
No Brunswick Green here, purely British Racing Green. 🇬🇧🍻🍏👍😊
Excellent as always Rory. If you would like some in cab footage for your LNER edition, let me know.
Excellent video, I come from a GW family, my grandfather served for 45 years at Croes Newydd (Wrexham) shed finishing as a top link passenger driver covering the line to Barmouth, the shed mainly dealing with the coal and steel traffic.
I really enjoy your videos. They are extremely informative and you see no need to dramatize them. I could use your guidance. I am an old man, living in Texas, now, but way back in September of 1974 I was a young 19 year old U.S. Marine. LST-1181 of the amphibious force I was assigned to, docked in Cardiff, ( a lovely city with two beautiful girls...) and I was briefly able to visit the railway station. I rode a diesel rail car set to Bristol. Other than that, I had no real idea what sort of locomotives I was seeing, especially at Cardiff. Maybe you can shed some light on what I might have seen? Thank you and keep the great information coming. Matt
This is a superb series. Thanks "Roderick" (or however it is pronounced) I enjoy all the videos you produce.
These histories are really great - my O. S. Nock books have come alive!
0:29 Happy 100th Birthday GWR The Great Western Railway.
1923 - 2023.
100 Years. X
Great video! Thank you. And the ending is the best! What a sight, the best representation of what the GWR is or was back then
Agreed. 🙂
You usually do great work. However... this is your best yet! You've set a new standard for yourself...
It helps when you read parts of the video directly from articles on the internet
Wow Awesome video, I can't wait to see you talk a bout the other companies.
That was a Great (Western Railway) history, wow, I look for to the next three .
Excellent introduction to the famed Great Western Railway's history, from its formation through the challenges of war, Depression, and the arrival of Darth Beeching. (Excuse me, Dr. Beeching.)
Ah, yes! Broad gauge… the what if.
What if broad gauge had become the standard for railways today? Well I suspect it would have given us a more stable ride at very high speeds and it would have definitely given much more room inside the coaches than today’s vehicles but it wasn’t too be… sadly.
Certainly did give a more comfortable ride and speedier too.
In fact ⅕ of the world's railway tracks are larger than the standard gauge. Parts of Australia, Africa, South America and even San Francisco use them today.
@@JP_TaVeryMuch Éire, as well, is a broader gauge. However, the 7ft gauge would have greatly increased the construction costs of the railway system.
@@bertrandpoulengy4121yes but would of made less costly for nowadays rolling stock would of less need for modifications as an extreme changes vs what's being used in Europe in terms of size.
Awesome video 🙂 big GWR fan, grew up in Somerset in the era of the Westerns.
Hello from Kansas🇺🇸
Really helpful the way that the narrative gives a thorough historical context.
Honestly keep up the fantastic transport documentary’s. Looking forward to the Lner 🤘
Great documentary yet again! It does make you wonder what the railways could have been like if the government had gone back to the big 4 after 1945.
Show me any rail fan of any persuasion who isn’t moved by the sight and sound (and smell, you can imagine it) of that Castle pounding along Dawlish Warren at the end! Even my 7 and 5 year old boys can tell a great western loco from any others just from the sound of the whistle.
The Great Western was truly great.
Excellent and informative video - thank you
Great balance between detail and overview. Wonderful choice of footage.
An excellent review with a cracking closing shot. Good work.
A Well researched, produced and narrated video that is also very educational. Many thanks for sharing.
It might be worth noting that until about the late 1980s, the Regions (Western, Southern, Eastern, London Midland, and Scottish) had a fair bit of autonomy, not least in the engineering departments, to which you alluded to re traction techniques. As someone who started work on the Western Region in 1981, it soon became apparent that they differed quite a bit when it comes down to the detail - not only the choice of external contractors, but in-house design and manufacture etc.
There's an interesting parallel in Ruairidh's recent series on the British motor industry, with the Austin and Morris divisions continuing as almost rivals, despite being part of the same organisation.
Really interesting 👏👏👏
Great video as always, looking forward to the other three parts!
The GW had a small station 🚉 at Salisbury, with trains from Reading hence the switch from Swindon in 1985.
15:00 Not to get into the mine's bigger nonsense but it looked appealing but did little, the airsmoothing.
GWR had Ton up Truro, the City class and first ever 100mph + in 1904. Coupled... with the only average speed of 80mph+ (over 75miles + distance) Castle class in 1932. Record still unsurpassed to this day.
Great brief history, thanks. Some great archive footage to. 👍👍👍
Excellent and informative presentation, as always!
Superb content possibly the most concise and interesting GWR history ! 🚂
Excellent as always, love your channel 👍
A lovely, well narrated documentary, Worthy of Prime time TV. As a fan of the GWR I found this most educational. Will you be doing anymore videos on the GWR in the future????. Well done👍👍👍 and thanks.
Beautiful video and very informative too! Thank you 🙂
Awesome as usual,thank you.
Excellent job many thanks 👍
Great work!
Kind Regards from Germany
Again, a superb video. One locomotive I've really come to appreciate is Southern's Q1 Bullied - an ugly duckling, but nevertheless great engineering given the need for severe austerity.
Id like to see the history of the British Railway Network please? Still this is awesome.
From one Brilliant four part series to the start of another Rory. Though apart from the locomotives that The GWR used there are some other legacies. Apart from The Notorious Devon Banks and The Summer Saturday specials to Paignton and Newquay was The Royal Albert Bridge crossing The River Tamar from Devon into Cornwall at least that's what i think anyway.
I can’t for the life of me understand why anybody ever thought that forcing a bunch of train companies to amalgamate into what were essentially four regional monopolies was ever a good idea.
The story well told...
6:34
Wages doing what to meet the increased cost of living? Wow the olden days were crazy
Nice assortment of clips & relevant dialogue, the latter slightly garbled at times for speed like its subject matter, perhaps 🙂
Yes this year is the centenary celebration since the big 4 was formed
Really enjoyable and informative - Thanks for posting. My only very slight criticism would be that your speed of narration could benefit from slowing down a tad.
Reading Green Park station recently opened on the Reading-Basingstoke Line and it serves the Green Park area to the south of Reading town centre and is also near to Reading FC “Select Car Leasing” stadium who have been relegated to EFL League One.
Thank you for tuning in! Throughout history, trains have played a vital role, fueling industrialization and fostering connections between societies. From the advent of steam locomotives to the modern marvels of high-speed bullet trains, their evolution continues to redefine transportation. This video provides a concise yet enlightening glimpse into their lasting importance. If you're intrigued by British Railway History, be sure to explore our curated playlist for further exploration: ruclips.net/p/PLbkIohgbg3ZNXQ2yFZ92zn-sXxO350Aa2
16.17 The Norton Fitzwarren accident didn't happen because the train traversed points too fast, it was caused by the driver not realising he was on the relief track and not the main track. He only realised his error when a lightweight fast newspaper train pulled by another King Class engine overtook him just before Norton Fitzwarren, where the relief and main tracks would merge again. Driver of King George VI applied the emergency brakes but he only had 250 yards until his engine hit the mud beyond the catch points. It was most fortunate that the newspaper train missed by mere inches being struck by the derailed engine of the passenger train.
The driver of King George VI was exonerated by the court due to the severe stresses of wartime operation and also the unsatisfactory positioning of the signals which contributed to the driver's error.
By a strange coincidence, the GWR's only previous fatal accident happened at the same spot almost exactly 50 years earlier in 1890, but in totally unrelated circumstances. GWR's excellent safety record is also worth mentioning.
There is speculation that the signal man at Taunton was possibly partly to blame as well. While it must be said we will never be able to prove it its possible he had originally set the road for the night sleeper to go onto the main line then changed his mind.
It should also be noted the driver of the night sleeper had been bombed out of his house the night before the crash
A great overview. Not sure that the Modernisation Plan of 1955 was fruitless. Yes many mistakes were made, though I wouldn’t include the diesel hydraulics amongst them, however much good work was done: replacement of much of the semaphore signals with colour light signals on much of the main line network, replacement of jointed track with continuous welder rail, the widening of the East Coast Main Line north of Kings Cross and the building of such stations as Barking and Coventry - now both listed. When planning the electrification on the West Coast Main line the decision not to proceed with 1500 volt DC but to change to 25Kv was a bold one and one which has been proven right.
Superb video but no mention of the broad gauge ?
Excellent and enjoyable; thank you! Like MasterMind Gaming, I thought the ending was the best part of all...from my favourite video from this channel! (What was its title by the way? 😲 DAVID CROOK HAS FORGOTTEN!!)
God's Wonderful Railway, great!
GWR aka God's Wonderful Railway!
Montague (Duck): “Their are Two ways of doing things, The Great Western Way or the Wrong Way.”
The Big Engines: “DON’T WE KNOW IT!!!!!!”
Said ringo star
Outstanding history of the Great Western Mainline.
Here is a question: At Southall, where it's home for West Coast Railway Company. In it's hay day, would the depot at Southall been also the base for the GWR fleet?
I want to nominate this fella for a Knighthood
I would like to know the entire history of railways worldwide, because it seems to me that the concept exploded like wildfire after the 1830s.. in 20 years there were railway systems all over Europe and the U.S.
Was there a convention that set it all off?
Great video with very good research put into it, but when you mentioned the accident on November 4th, 1940 you said 6208 instead of 6028. Other then that, good work!
Also it didn't jump the track due to speed but ran into the end of a dead end spur at the end of the duplicate slow line.
@@mofomat Norton Fitzwarren
Super video. It would be easier to enjoy and follow if fewer significant digits were spoken of the many numbers given (e.g. "Over 2,400" instead of "two thousand, four hundred and seventy two"...
Can you do history of the g&swr railway
Visually, a great film which brings back happy memories for a rail enthusiast from South Devon. Much enjoyed, but unfortunately not the commentary, which is too rapid and extremely monotonous.
yooo i go to that place at the start all the time
Didn't hear mention of the London Transport which was something the GWR had
Top Drawer.
was that scene at the start filmed at cockwood harbour?
8:30 what class engine is that. as it looks like a 2-6-0 but with the side rode outside like the duke dogs
I believe it to be the GWR 2600 aka Aberdare class
@@kanehood3478 oh wow someone finally answered thanks. i hope a model railway manufacturer makes this in 00 scale as i looks very unique
NO - Stockton-Darlington was NOT the first railway system, it was a steam hauled railway track. The first railway system, ie publicly available, regular, passenger, freight, timetabled was Liverpool to Manchester of 1830. The story of the Big Four should therefore start with the LMS and not the GWR.
Great video but one minor correction, the GWR went to Aylesbury not Aylesford.
Yeah i know my geography is pretty poor but i was thinking aylesford thats in kent next to Maidstone
Hey, this isn't about the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway!
🤦♂️
GWR… I spit on thee! They destroyed the Somerset and Dorset railway and made sure it couldn’t be reopened again.
A Shilling(stone) for your thoughts.
Bason what (Bridge) may I ask?
Perhaps you could Stur(minster Newton) me towards an article about it please.
@@JP_TaVeryMuch In 1958 management of the line north of Templecombe was transferred from the Southern Region of British Railways to the Western Region of British Railways. In the five years after this, through trains from the north and the Midlands were diverted to other routes, notably the daily Pines Express, which was re-routed after the end of the summer timetable in 1962… the western region effectively still the GWR but under BR ownership closed the line and made sure it wouldn’t reopen by destroying it.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerset_and_Dorset_Joint_Railway
@@macjim thank you
Oh dear, everything was fine until you mangled what loading gauge is. The loading gauge of a railway defines the boundary of the load that can be carried on a train without causing problems with line side structures including bridges and tunnels amongst other structures or trains on parallel lines. It has nothing to do with weights and axle loads.
Indeed, all boys' public schools need bordellos to motivate the pupils toward excellence in all endevours. 😊
GWR some of the best in the 1900s some of the worst by 1948 despite belated reforms standardisation made them dynamic and efficient but over time impaired progress as they were bound by their format
2:12 Bah humbug, if ever there were a word who's pronunciation legally required the krek waiter's peek, it must be the elegant and historic city of Baaarrrth.
S.v.p. monsieur Ruairidh!
P.S. 13:19 You can't beat those GWR Autocars.
What a shock to the system they will have been to passengers at the time; all the way up from schoolboys to the Miss Marples of the world.
Calm down mate. It don’t matter how we pronounce it
Wonder were the students of Elton tempted by the brothels of London? I can think of one former prime minister that may have born. Lol
hi :)
Am I the only one who is finding the narration extremely mechanic and difficult to follow?
hey, I'm first to comment, hooray !!