<P> The railway system of Great Britain , the principal territory of the United Kingdom , is the oldest in the world . It was started with the building of local isolated wooden wagonways starting in 1560s . The system was later built as a patchwork of local rail links operated by small private railway companies in late 18th century . These isolated links developed during the railway boom of the 1840s into a national network , although still run by dozens of competing companies . Over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries , these amalgamated or were bought by competitors until only a handful of larger companies remained ( see railway mania ) . The entire network was brought under government control during the First World War and a number of advantages of amalgamation and planning were revealed . However , the government resisted calls for the nationalisation of the network . In 1923 , almost all the remaining companies were grouped into the `` big four '' , the Great Western Railway , the London and North Eastern Railway , the London , Midland and Scottish Railway and the Southern Railway . The `` Big Four '' were joint - stock public companies and they continued to run the railway system until 31 December 1947 . </P>
when did the first train run in england
1560s