At this season, when the various transportation and engineering societies at Home are actively engaged on their Winter programmes, numerous able reviews of railway progress in its many fields are given out. Quite the most interesting summing-up of the Home railway situation recently attempted was that of Mr. E. F. C. Trench, Consulting Engineer, London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in his presidential address to the Institution of Civil Engineers.

That the results of railway grouping at Home would, in the long run, be beneficial alike to the railway and the public was the opinion of Mr. Trench. A change of this magnitude could not, however, be effected without temporary inconvenience. If amalgamations had been encouraged in the past, instead of discouraged, even better results would have been attained, for the unifying of the larger lines and the absorption of the smaller railways would then have taken place from time to time as opportunity arose. The necessary reorganisation would have been gradually built up, and less hardship would have been inflicted on the public and on the railway staffs than was caused by throwing the whole of the railways into the melting-pot at the same moment.