The Southern Since 1953

Book excerpt: A photographic journey of the ever changing railway scene of southern England stretching from Cornwall to the Kent Coast, served from 1953 to the present day by the Southern Region and its successors. When our story begins steam west of the Portsmouth man line still reigns supreme whilst much of the rest of the network is served by Southern Electric. Many of the trains at work in 1953 were of pre\-1939 origin, some even dating back to the first decade of the 20th century, although the influence of Oliver Bullied’s revolutionary semi\-streamline pacifics and high capacity suburban electric multiple units pointed to the future. By 1967 diesel would replace steam, and electrification would spread, whilst many less well used lines in Hampshire, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall would close. Electrification had begun in the London area in the early 1900s, expanding to the Kent, Sussex and east Hampshire coasts, in the process creating the greatest main line electrified system in the world: this would continue down to today.