Railway in Russia, active in 1869.

Welsh railway company, opened in 1834.

The Metropolitan Railway Co was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933. The line connected the main railway stations of Paddington, Euston and King’s Cross with the City of London. Sections of the line had to be constructed beneath the ground and used the ‘cut and cover’ method of constructing tunnels as well as digging tunnels in later sections of the line. The railway line opened in 1863 and consisted of wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives. It was the world’s first underground railway to carry passengers. The original line was extended, reaching Hammersmith in 1864, Richmond in 1877. The building of the line northwards to Harrow encouraged the development of the new suburb in 1880. Electricity was introduced in 1905 and by 1907 multiple electrically powered units operated across the line. Outlying districts did have to wait to be electrified. The company developed land for housing along the length of the line, resulting in increased passenger numbers. In 1933, the company amalgamated with the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and the city’s tram and bus operators to form the London Passenger Transport Board.

Railway in the Netherlands, active in 1870.

Russian railway, active in 1869.

The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) were operated by the New South Wales Government from 1855 who administered all the railway lines in the New South Wales area from headquarters in Sydney. The lines ranged from Brisbane (Queensland) and Broken Hill (South Australian Frontier) to Albury (Victorian Frontier). Between 1855 and 1932 the operation of NSWGR changed many times, altering between a Chief Commissioner with sole authority and groups of commissioners who shared responsibility. After the 1932 amendment of the Railways Act by the Transport (Division of Factions) Act, NSWGR was replaced by the Department of Railways New South Wales.

The North Eastern Railway Company was formed in 1854 when the York, Newcastle and Berwick, York and North Midland, Leeds Northern, and Malton and Driffield Railways amalgamated. It acquired the West Hartlepool Railway in 1864, the Stockton and Darlington in 1865 and the Blyth and Tyne in 1874. As a result it almost had a monopoly in its area. Its area of operation covered the north east and north Yorkshire, and stretched from Berwick-on-Tweed south to Doncaster, with extensions into Westmorland and Cumberland and into Scotland. It exercised running powers over the North British line from Berwick to Edinburgh and a joint owner of the Forth Bridge. It was also a joint owner of the East Coast Joint Stock with the Great Northern and North British Railways. Its main goods traffic was coal from the Northumberland and Durham coalfields. It was an early investor in electrification, initially to deal with a difficult approach to the docks but later extended to the Newcastle-upon-Tyne suburban area. It also electrified goods workings between Shildon and Middlesbrough and planned to electrify the York to Newcastle route (even building a prototype locomotive) but the first world war intervened and the work was not carried out. The headquarters of the NER were in York where it also had its carriage works. The main works were at Shildon. Among its Chief Mechanical Engineers were Wilson Worsdell, Thomas Worsdell and Vincent Raven. The NER became part of the London and North Eastern Railway under Grouping in 1923.

Russian railway, active in 1870.

Dutch railway company

State owned railway company that operated most of the railway network in Norway.

Belgian Railway, active in 1871.

Railway company known in Dutch as Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij, abbreviated to NIS. Also known as the Dutch East Indies Railway Company. Established in 1863, the company was in charge of rail transport in Java, Dutch East Indies.