Much of the company's early history saw attempts at expansion. This sometimes led to feuds with its neighbours, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in the west and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) to the north-east. However, in 1899 the SER agreed with the LCDR to share operation of the two railways and work them as a single system, marketed as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Receipts were pooled but it was not a full amalgamation. The SER and LCDR remained separate companies until they became constituents of the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act 1921.