Railways Remembered: Southern England 1962-1972

At the time these photos were taken, the author was working for the Western Region and aware of the great changes to the railway network which were underway. Even before the publication of the Beeching report, he resolved to record in colour as much of the changing railway scene as was possible. He sought innovative angles, and made a particular point of including people, particularly railway employees, in his photos. This photographic journey starts in Kent in the east of the region and travels westwards. The photos have been broadly organised according to the territories of the pre-grouping constituents of the Southern Railway, and latterly BR’s Southern Region, starting with the South Eastern & Chatham Railway (SECR), then the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR), and finally the London South Western Railway (LSWR). Interspersed with these companies is coverage of the Isle of Wight railways, whose services were being operated by several small railway companies prior to absorption by the SR.