Formed in 1852, incorporated by Act of Parliament, 1853. Main lines ran west from Madras to Bangalore via Jalarpet, south west from Jalarpet to the Malabar Coast at Calicut and north west to Raichur. In 1901, the company took over the portion of the East Coast State Railway between Vizagapatam and Madras, and in 1903 the Nilgiri Railway from Mettupalaiyam to Coonoor. The Madras Railway was purchased by Government in 1907. The northern portion was given over for working to the Southern Mahratta Railway, which became known as the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the southern portion became part of the South Indian Railway.

Swedish railway.

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.

Incorporated by act of 5th May 1837. Under act of 1846 (9 & 10 Vic, cap.268), Sheffield, Ashton under Lyne & Manchester Railway Company; Great Grimsby & Sheffield Junction Rly. Co; Sheffield & Lincolnshire Junction Rly. Co; Sheffield & Lincolnshire Extension Rly. Co; and Grimsby Dock Co., were amalgamated to form Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway Company. By act of 9th July 1847, Manchester & Lincoln Union Railway Company and Chesterfield & Gainsborough Canal Company were united with Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway Company. Latter company was re-incorporated under Consolidating Act of 1st August 1849, and by Great Central Railway Act of 3rd June 1897 name of Company was changed from 1st August 1897 to Great Central Railway Company. Great Central Railway Company was vested in London & North Eastern Railway Company as from 1st January 1923 by virtue of North Eastern, Eastern & East Scottish Group Amalgamation Scheme 1922 dated 30th December 1922

Dutch railway company

Colliery in Lancashire, known to have been active 1896-1923.

Government agency created in 1887 with the task of managing all state-owned railway lines in Sweden.

Swedish railway.

The London and South Western Railway Company (LSWR) opened their first line in stages in from London to Southampton in 1838 under the name London and Southampton Railway Company. A year later the company name was changed to the LSWR. By the early 1900s, the line had been extended and ran from London to Plymouth via Yeovil, Exeter and Southampton. Some of the branch lines of the LSWR, further into Southern counties, were in direct competition with the Great Western Railway Company and others were worked in partnership with other railway companies such as the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. Nine Elms in London was the main depot of the LSWR, until Waterloo Station was opened by the company in 1848. Nine Elms became the goods depot for the London and South Western Railway Company and Waterloo became one of the biggest passenger stations in the country. The main LSWR engineering works was transferred from Nine Elms to Eastleigh by 1909. Sir Herbert Walker was General Manager of the London and South Western Railway Company from 1912, when he instituted the third-rail electrification programme, and was appointed General Manager of the Southern Railway Company in 1923, until his retirement in 1937. There were a number of notable engineers attached to the LSWR including John Viret Gooch, brother of Sir Daniel Gooch who was Locomotive Superintendent from 1841 to 1850. Dugald Drummond was the Chief Mechanical Engineer from 1895 to 1912; he facilitated moving the Works from Nine Elms to Eastleigh and their subsequent expansion and modernisation. Alfred Szlumper, appointed Chief Engineer in 1914 was key to the expansion and redesign of Waterloo Station, completed by 1922 The LSWR began electrification of its suburban lines from Waterloo in 1913. The first section was opened in 1915, and almost all the other planned routes were opened before the First World War curtailed the project. The London and South Western Railway Company was very prominent in handling all types of traffic during the First World War, due to it’s position serving London and the ports on the South Coast. The LSWR also had an ocean-going port at Southampton, which was a growing rival to Liverpool and Glasgow for transatlantic travel. The purchase of Southampton docks by the LSWR in 1892, alongside their expansion and modernisation, was organised by Sir Charles Scotter, the General Manager from 1885 to 1898. Scotter then became Chairmen of the Company from 1904 to 1910. The LSWR also ran steamer services from Southampton to the Channel Islands and France. In 1923, the LSWR was grouped into the Southern Railway Company by the Railways Act of 1921.

Railway company formed in 1845, to connect the Dublin and Drogheda Railway at Drogheda to the Ulster Railway at Portadown, creating a rail link between Dublin and Belfast when the line was completed in 1852. In 1875, the Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway merged with the Dublin and Drogheda Railway to form the Northern Railway of Ireland.

Railway company incorporated in 1836. In 1876 the Ulster Railway merged with the Irish North Western Railway and the Northern Railway of Ireland to form the Great Northern Railway (Ireland).

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

Swedish company

The Midland Railway was formed in 1844 from the merger of the Midland Counties Railway, the North Midland Railway and Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway wit its headquarters in Derby. It expanded its operational territory by acquisition (e.g. railways in the Erewash valley, to Sheffield, serving the Leicestershire coalfields and the route from Birmingham to Bristol), and by construction of new railways and extensions to existing lines, including lines to Peterborough and Lincoln, towards Manchester and, most notably the Settle to Carlisle route. It expanded into the South Wales coalfields, and acquired railways not connected to its main routes: the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway and, in Ireland, the Belfast and Northern Counties Railways. Much of this activity was driven by competition with its geographical rivals, the London and North Western Railway to the west and the Great Northern Railway to the east. Where its interests were better served by co-operation, it tried to reach agreements with those same companies to share routes and traffic receipts. The most famous of these is the Euston Square Confederation, an agreement between the Midland Railway, the London and North Western Railway and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. Other such arrangements were the Cheshire Lines Committee and the right to run over the Great Northern Railway into King’s Cross station. The arrangements for through running and sharing of London termini with its competitors proved unsatisfactory. As a consequence the Midland Railway eventually built its own connection to London. The line ran from Bedford on the Midland’s existing Leicester to Hitchin line, to a terminus at St Pancras. It was opened in 1868. The Midland Railway was a partner in several joint railways e.g. the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (with the London and South Western Railway), and the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (the Great Northern Railway). The Midland Railway came under the control of the Railway Executive during the First World War and ended its independent existence in 1923 under Grouping when it was merged with, amongst other railway companies, its great rival the London and North Western Railway to form the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company.

Irish railway company incorporated in 1844. The first section of the line from Dublin to Cashel was completed and opened in 1846. In 1925 the GS&WR was amalgamated with all the other railways operating wholly within the Irish Free State to form the Great Southern Railways.

In 1883 the Victorian Railways Commissioners Act, 47 Vic., No.767, brought the staff of the Department of Railways, founded in 1856, under the jurisdiction of the Railway Commissioners, which became known as Victorian Railways. This act gave Victorian Railways the authority to construct, manage and maintain the railways of the state. In 1889 Newport replaced Williamstown as the location of the Victorian Railways workshop, and being the largest in Australia. The Victorian Railways Head Office was located in Spencer Street from 1893, and housed the branch’s design and administrative functions. In 1919, the electrification of the Melbourne suburban system commenced and was completed in 1930. In 1922 the Border Railway Act extended some of Victorian Railways lines into New South Wales. In 1961 a standard gauge line connecting to the New South Wales system was constructed to allow travel between Melbourne and Sydney for the first time. In 1973 the Railways Amendment Act passed the management to a Victorian Railways Board from the Victorian Railways Commissioners. In 1974 Victorian Railways became VicRail.