Looking back at the impact of Britain's Big Four railway companies, 100 years later. GWR, LMS, LNER and SR: these initials arouse memories of the Cornish Riviera Express, the streamlined Coronation Scot, the streamlined Coronation with its beaver tail, and the Southern Electrics, yet three of these companies only enjoyed a life of 25 years. Colin G. Maggs, who was born in this era and is one of the country's leading railway historians, is perfectly placed to tell the story of how these Big Four companies came into being and their enormous success following the rundown of the railways during the First World War, which system of neglect led to 26 companies becoming 4. The remarkable, if surprisingly brief, era of the Big Four saw great changes and achievements, including streamlining; speed records; electrification; diesel power; railway-owned buses and aircraft; and a real sense of cooperation between companies at last. AUTHOR: Colin G. Maggs has had 105 books published to date, mostly on railway history. In 1993 HM the Queen awarded him an MBE for services to railway history. He has written countless railway newspaper and magazine articles, given broadcasts on TV and radio, talks to societies, and lectured on railway history at the University of Bath. He lives in Bath. 50 b/w illustrations