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The Southern Railway was formed in 1923 when the multitude of railway companies that existed in Britain were amalgamated into “The Big Four”, which also included the GWR, the LMS and the LNER.
Although the “Southern” was the smallest of the new companies, it included in its boundaries the populous south eastern corner of the country, which resulted in the operation of a considerable amount of commuter traffic. In contrast prestige trains were run between the capital and the major shipping terminals of Southern England whilst vast amounts of holiday makers were also ferried to the coast, journeys that often involved a trip along a short seaside branch line.
A diversity of steam locomotive power was utilised to handle these traffic needs and this programme shows a selection of those that have survived to live on in preservation, ranging from the likes of a tank engine that once plied its trade on the Isle of Wight network to the pacific locomotives that were employed on mainland express duties right up to the final days of steam on the Southern Region of BR. |
