The Southern Railway (SR), sometimes shortened to 'Southern', was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent. The railway was formed by the amalgamation of several smaller railway companies, the largest of which were the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) and the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR). The construction of what was to become the Southern Railway began in 1838 with the opening of the London and Southampton Railway, which was renamed the London & South Western Railway.
The British Rail Class 73 is a British electro-diesel locomotive. This type is unusual in that it can operate on the Southern Region's 650 / 750 V DC third rail power supply, or an onboard diesel engine to allow it to be used on non-electrified routes. This makes it very versatile, although the diesel engine produces less power than is available from the third-rail power supply, so the locomotives are rarely used outside of the former Southern Region of British Rail. It is one of the first bi-mode locomotives ever built. Following the withdrawal and scrapping of the more powerful Class 74 bi-mode locomotives in 1977, the Class 73 was unique on the British railway network until the introduction of the Class 88 bi-mode locomotives in 2017. Ten locomotives have been scrapped.
The Swanage Railway is a railway branch line from near Wareham, Dorset to Swanage, Dorset, England, opened in 1885 and now operated as a heritage railway.
The British Rail TC multiple units were unpowered fixed formations of 3 or 4 carriages with a driving position at each end of the set, converted by BR's Holgate Road carriage works from locomotive-hauled Mark 1 carriages in 1966–1967 and 1974. The units built on experience gained from the prototype 6TC unit. In time the 3 car units were reformed into four car units to match the rest of the fleet and later classified as Class 442. This was later changed to Class 491, under which they spent the majority of their working lives. Shortly before withdrawal they were reclassified Class 438 and the units were renumbered to 8001-8034.
The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south western suburbs of London and the conurbations based on Southampton and Bournemouth. It runs through the counties of Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset. It forms the core of the network built by the London and South Western Railway, today mostly operated by South Western Railway.
Bournemouth railway station serves the seaside town of Bournemouth, in Dorset, England. It was known previously as Bournemouth East and then Bournemouth Central. It has long been treated as an obligatory principal stop on the South West Main Line between London Waterloo and Weymouth. It is 108 miles 2 chains (173.8 km) down the main line from Waterloo and is situated between Pokesdown and Branksome.
The SR West Country and Battle of Britain classes, collectively known as Light Pacifics or informally as Spam Cans, or "flat tops", are air-smoothed 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotives designed for the Southern Railway by its Chief Mechanical Engineer Oliver Bulleid. Incorporating a number of new developments in British steam locomotive technology, they were amongst the first British designs to use welding in the construction process, and to use steel fireboxes, which meant that components could be more easily constructed under wartime austerity and post-war economy.
The British Rail Class 33, also known as the BRCW Type 3 or Crompton, is a class of Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives, ordered in 1957 and built for the Southern Region of British Railways between 1960 and 1962.
The LSWR M7 class is a class of 0-4-4T passenger tank locomotive built between 1897 and 1911. The class was designed by Dugald Drummond for use on the intensive London network of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), and performed well in such tasks. Because of their utility, 105 were built and the class went through several modifications over five production batches. For this reason there were detail variations such as frame length. Many of the class were fitted with push-pull operation gear that enabled efficient use on branch line duties without the need to change to the other end of its train at the end of a journey.
The British Rail Class 432 (4-REP) electric multiple unit passenger trains were built by BR at York Works from 1966 to 1967 and in 1974. The units were built to power the TC trailer units on services on the South West Main Line. Fifteen four-car units were eventually built. The motor coaches were new build, but the trailers were converted from Mk1 hauled stock. They were initially classified as Class 441 and numbered 3001–3015. This was later changed to Class 430, under which they spent the majority of their working lives. Shortly before withdrawal they were reclassified Class 432 and the units were renumbered as 2001–2015. The fleet had a lifespan of 26 years.
The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948 until 1992 when railways were re-privatised. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s. The region covered south London, southern England and the south coast, including the busy commuter belt areas of Kent, Sussex and Surrey. The region was largely based upon the former Southern Railway area.
Push–pull is a configuration for locomotive-hauled trains, allowing them to be driven from either end of the train, whether having a locomotive at each end or not.
Moreton railway station serves the villages of Moreton and Crossways in Dorset, England. It is operated by South Western Railway and is served by their trains between London Waterloo and Weymouth. The station is 130 miles 24 chains (209.7 km) down the line from Waterloo.
Wool railway station serves the village of Wool in Dorset, England. It is on the South West Main Line, 125 miles 69 chains (202.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo. South Western Railway manages the station and operates all services.
Wareham railway station serves the historic market town of Wareham in Dorset, England. It is situated about 0.6 miles (1 km) north of the town centre. It is 120 miles 70 chains (194.5 km) down the line from London Waterloo. On tickets it is printed "Wareham Dorset" to avoid confusion with Ware railway station.
The Devon Belle was a luxury express passenger train in England which ran between London Waterloo station and Ilfracombe and Plymouth in Devon in the years from 1947 to 1954.
Pullman trains in Great Britain were mainline luxury railway services that operated with first-class coaches and a steward service, provided by the British Pullman Car Company (PCC) from 1874 until 1962, and then by British Railways from 1962 until 1972. Many named mainline service trains have subsequently used the word 'Pullman' in their titles, but most of these have been normal trains with increased first-class accommodation. Since 1982 however, some railtours have been operated by companies using Pullman coaches dating from the 1920s to 1950s to recreate the ambience of the heyday of Pullman travel.
The Brighton Belle was a named train which was operated by the Southern Railway and subsequently by British Rail from Victoria Station in London to Brighton, on the Sussex coast. Commissioned as the flagship of the Southern Railway's mass electrification project, which commenced in January 1931, the world's only electric all-Pullman service ran daily between London Victoria and Brighton from 1 January 1933 until 30 April 1972.
The SR Merchant Navy class is a class of air-smoothed 4-6-2 (Pacific) steam locomotives designed for the Southern Railway by Oliver Bulleid. The Pacific design was chosen in preference to several others proposed by Bulleid. The first members of the class were constructed during the Second World War, and the last of the 30 locomotives in 1949.
The Thanet Belle was a named train run by the Southern Region of British Railways from 1948 until it was withdrawn in 1958 due to the electrification of the route. It ran from London Victoria to Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate.
