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British Railways (BR), which from the 1960s traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997.

It formed from the nationalisation of the “Big Four” British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages between 1994 and 1997.

Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in 1962: the British Railways Board.

The period of nationalisation saw sweeping changes in the national railway network. A process of dieselisation occurred that eliminated steam locomotion in 1968, in favour of diesel and electric power. Passengers replaced freight as the main source of business, and one third of the network was closed by the Beeching Axe of the 1960s.

The “cycling lion” crest, used on locomotives between 1950 and early 1956

The 1956 “ferret and dartboard” crest, used on locomotives until the Corporate (blue) Livery and logo was introduced

The rail transport system in Great Britain developed during the 19th century. After the grouping of 1923 under the Railways Act 1921 there were four large railway companies, each dominating its own geographic area: the Great Western Railway (GWR), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the Southern Railway (SR).