Robin Gibbons – The 1923 Grouping

MEETING REPORT 10^th MARCH 2026

For our March meeting we were delighted to have Robin Gibbons, from the East Midlands branch, tackling the somewhat complex subject of the 1923 Grouping.  From the first inception of railways in the early 19^th century, successive governments had continuing dialogue about railway combination schemes, although no real progress was made.  Laissez-faire appeared to dominate thinking.  Initially, ‘open access’ was very much the name of the game: indeed an illustration was shown of a stagecoach (flanged wheels?) following a goods train on the Stockton & Darlington Railway!  An 1872 Select Committee did discuss possible amalgamations with some modelling formulated.  The eventual impetus for the 1923 Grouping came from the aftermath of the Great War.  The newly created Ministry of Transport was driven by Sir Eric Geddes.  The Railway Executive Committee, formed of general managers had proven to be very successful in running the railways during the war.  However, the status quo was not seen to be the way forward.  This led to the Railways Act of 1921.  Ultimately during 1923, four groups were mandated, Western (GWR), Southern (SR), North Western (LMS) and North Eastern (LNER).  The Scottish railways were incorporated in the last two.  One of the most contentious issues was that of compensating the previous railway companies.  Was the grouping a success or a failure?  Perhaps, somewhere between the two.  The debate continues.  A bibliography was offered, with a special reference to the works of Michael Bonavia who had a long career in the railway sector.  Our thanks to Robin for a very well researched topic, discussing so many complex issues, with a fascinating historical narrative to support them.