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The 'London and South Western Railway' (L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had a large number of routes connecting towns in Hampshire and Berkshire, including Portsmouth and Reading. Following the imposed grouping of the railways in 1923, the L&SWR lines became part of the Southern Railway.
Among the most significant achievements of the L&SWR were the electrification of suburban lines, the introduction of power signalling, the development of Southampton Docks, the rebuilding of Waterloo Station as one of the great stations of the world and the handling of the massive traffic involved in the First World War. By the twentieth century its services were exemplary.

Contents

Origins

Construction of the Southampton line

Gauge Wars

Early Expansion

Waterloo Station

Expansion West of Exeter

Expansion to 1890

The L&SWR from 1890

Electrification

Southampton Docks

Eastleigh Engineering Works

LSWR infrastructure

Locomotive engineers, works and corporate liveries

Locomotive works

Locomotive Liveries

Other details

See also

References

External links

Origins

In the years following the Napoleonic Wars there was great concern about the security of coastal shipping routes between Southampton and London, and a number of canal schemes had been put forward. As main line railways were seen to be feasible, the idea of connecting places in the South West of England and London were much discussed.
An early proposal for a railway came from Robert Johnson and Abel Ros Dottin, member of parliament for Southampton. A prospectus was published on 23 October 1830 and a public meeting in February 1831 gave unanimous support to the proposals. The railway was promoted as the ''Southampton, London and Branch Railway and Dock Company'', with capital of £1.5 million in shares of £20. The line was to link Southampton and London, and to extend a branch to districts between Hungerford and Bristol. At this time the Great Western Railway (GWR) was being promoted, and the two schemes soon became competitors in providing railway connection to towns in the South West.
However commercial interests in Bristol and Bath seemed to favour the GWR's proposals over the Southampton company's, and a more modest initial scheme, linking Southampton and London only, was developed for the time being. Two alternative routes were surveyed by the engineer Francis Giles. One was broadly the route finally adopted, from London via Kingston, Woking and Winchester; the other was a more southerly alignment through Guildford, Farnham and Alresford to Winchester. The southerly route passed through more prosperous agricultural land, but the northern route was preferred by the proprietors because of the better access to possible branch lines to Bristol via Hungerford, Devizes, and Bath).
The railway was promoted as the London and Southampton Railway and authorised by Act of Parliament on 25 July 1834.

Construction of the Southampton line

Construction started in September 1834 with Giles appointed engineer. Giles' method was to employ a number of small contractors working concurrently at various places on the line. However their lack of resources meant that progress was slow and sporadic, and Giles was unable to maintain control of costs. With mounting delays, projected cost to complete the line rose from the initial £894,000 to £1.5 million, and in 1837 parliamentary authority had to be sought to raise further capital. Following shareholders' examination of the accounts, instigated by a group of Lancashire shareholders, Giles was dismissed and replaced as engineer by Joseph Locke. Locke replaced many of the small contractors them with the established firm of Thomas Brassey, and the rate of progress improved greatly^[1].

The new line was opened in stages; the first section was from Nine Elms to Woking Common (later renamed Woking) on 21 May 1838, and the company changed its name to ''the London and South Western Railway Company'' on the same day.
The opening of the remainder of the main line followed:

★ Woking to Shapley Heath: 24 September 1838

★ Shapley Heath to Basingstoke: 10 June 1839

★ Winchester to a temporary "Southampton" station at Northam Road: 10 June 1839

★ Basingstoke to Winchester, and the Southampton terminus: 11 May 1840.
The stations on the line at the time of opening were:

★ Nine Elms; the London terminus on the south bank of the River Thames, adjacent to the present Nine Elms Way; the station was a little over a mile from Trafalgar Square;

★ Wandsworth; on the northern margin of Wandsworth Common, about half a mile west of the present Clapham Junction;

★ Wimbledon; somewhat to the west of Wimbledon Hill Road and of the present station;

★ Kingston; on the east side of King Charles Road, about half a mile east of the present Surbiton station;

★ Ditton Marsh; the present Esher station;

★ Walton; the present Walton-on-Thames station;

★ Weybridge

★ Woking Common; the present Woking station;

★ Farnborough;

★ Shapley Heath; the present Winchfield station;

★ Basingstoke;

★ Andover Road; the present Micheldever station;

★ Winchester;

★ Northam Road; at the road of the same name;

★ Southampton; later renamed Southampton Terminus, at the present Terminus Terrace, it was an elegant building in the classical style by Sir William Tite^[2].

Gauge Wars

In the period between the decision to build a London to Southampton railway, the proprietors and other interested parties were also actively planning railway connections to other important towns. Much of the territory lay towards Bath and Bristol, but the Great Western Railway (GWR) also planned to reach these towns. After efforts to gain support, the GWR got its Act of Parliament on 31st August 1835, and for the time being the matter was decided so far as Bath and Bristol were concerned. There remained much disputed territory, and the L&SWR and its allies were continually fighting the GWR and its allies for possession of territory for expansion. The GWR camp used the broad gauge of 7 feet and the L&SWR used what became the standard gauge of 4ft 8½in (sometimes referred to as "narrow gauge"), and the allegiance of any proposed independent railway was made clear by its intended track gauge. The protracted competition for territory, investment funds, and parliamentary approval became called the 'gauge wars'. (The term also applied of course to disputes between the GWR and other standard gauge companies.)
In these early days, government policy was that several competing railways could not be sustained on any particular area of the country, and a commission of experts referred to informally as 'the Five Kings' was established by the Board of Trade to determine the preferred development, and therefore the preferred company, in certain districts, and this was formalised in the Regulation of Railways Act 1844.
In 1836 and later years there were proposals for a narrow gauge extension to Exeter and Plymouth, but the Bristol & Exeter Railway, a broad gauge company, was successful in reaching Exeter first on 1st May 1844.
In 1844 a Wimborne solicitor put forward proposals for a Southampton and Dorchester Railway, and explored with the L&SWR its interest in supporting his scheme. However these negotiations were not positive, and in September 1944 the GWR agreed to lease his line, implying that it would be built to the broad gauge. The L&SWR developed an independent, opposing scheme, but the Five Kings supported the Southampton & Dorchester line. Formal agreement was reached on 16th January 1845 between the L&SWR, the GWR and the Southampton & Dorchester, agreeing exclusive areas of influence for future railway construction as between the parties.

Early Expansion

The L&SWR's energies were not confined to the gauge wars in the early years, and branch lines were constructed to Salisbury (as part of the thrust to the West), Richmond, Gosport (for Portsmouth), and Godalming.
In 1836 the promoters of the L & S proposed a branch from Bishopstoke (Eastleigh) to Portsmouth, the Portsmouth Junction Railway. However the population of Portsmouth wanted a direct line to London rather than a branch from a main line to Southampton. Their opposition resulted in the defeat of the Bill at its second reading.
In January 1838 a direct independent line was proposed to London, through Chichester, Arundel and Dorking. The promoters approached the L & S, but they were rejected with a degree of vindictiveness. The L & S was already planning a line to Gosport on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour. The L & S's Act succeeded on 4 June 1839. As a concession to Portsmouth the L & S changed its name to the London and South Western Railway.

Waterloo Station

The company's first London terminus had been built at Nine Elms, on the edge of the London built-up area. Its wharf frontage on the river was advantageous to one of its principal objectives, of substituting for coastal shipping transits. But it was inconvenient for the line's passengers, who had to pay turnpike tolls to proceed on land to London, or to continue by boat.
The "Metropolitan Extension" to a more central location had been discussed as early as 1836, and an extension eastwards to Waterloo station was authorised by Act of Parliament on 31st July 1845, followed two years later by a supplementary Act for a wider railway and a larger terminus; the aggregate capital authorised was £950,000. With an intermediate station at Vauxhall, the line was also to have two short branches, to Waterloo Bridge Road and to Hungerford Bridge. There were discussions on extension further east, to reach London Bridge, facilitating passenger business to London's commercial and financial districts, but in fact the plans were scaled back to incorporate only the trunk of the extension.
Opening was planned for 30th June 1848, but the Board of Trade Inspector refused to approve the engineering construction of some of the large-span bridges at the eastern end; however his superior was satisfied during load tests at a subsequent inspection, and the line opened on 11th July 1848. At first incoming trains stopped outside the station and were pulled in by capstan after the locomotive had been detached.
The Nine Elms site was now dedicated to goods traffic, and after opening of the Waterloo extension Nine Elms was much extended, filling the triangle of land eastwards to Wandsworth Road. An independent Richmond railway was promoted and would have run north of the line from Wandsworth to Nine Elms, but it would then have crossed the L&SWR line and ran to Waterloo. In fact the proposed line was adopted by the L&SWR, and when the Richmond line opened on 3rd August 1860, the main line was quadrupled between Falcon Junction (where the routes converged, just to the east of the present Clapham Junction station) to Waterloo.
The new Waterloo station was adjacent to Waterloo Bridge; there was no district named "Waterloo", and some early documentation refers to "Waterloo-bridge-station". It is not established whether the L&SWR ever used this designation in timetables etc.

Expansion West of Exeter

The Exeter and Crediton Railway (opened on 12 May 1851), and the North Devon Railway (opened on 1 August 1854) were leased to the London and South Western Railway from 1862/1863 and then bought out in 1865.

Expansion to 1890

The L&SWR from 1890

Electrification

The L&SWR adopted 650 V DC third rail electrification of its London suburban routes to Waterloo in 1913, but was delayed by First World War. They were inspired by the Sir Herbert Walker, who had recently been at London and North Western Railway and had electrified (using a similar 630 V DC four rail system) their suburban lines (see Suburban electrification of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway#London District). This early adoption clashed with LBSCR's 6600V (6.6 kV), 25 Hz AC, Overhead system. Grouping saw LSWR's management dominate and the LSWR system was rolled out across South London in the 1920's over the metals of both LBSCR and SECR. Eventually it replaced the LBSCR system and was used on two mainline electrifications of the exLBSCR's Brighton Main Line in January 1933 and LSWR's own Portsmouth Direct Line in May 1937. Electrification was thus limited to metro / suburban services using electric multiple units (EMUs), freight and mainline (intercity) services continued to use steam traction.

Southampton Docks

Eastleigh Engineering Works

In 1891, the works at Eastleigh, in Hampshire, were opened with the transfer of the carriage and wagon works from Nine Elms in London. The Locomotive Works were transferred from Nine Elms under Drummond, opening in 1909.

LSWR infrastructure

For details of the LSWR Main Line routes, see:

★ South Western Main Line

★ West of England Main Line

★ LSWR Secondary Routes

Locomotive engineers, works and corporate liveries

The LSWR was blessed throughout much of its history by distinguished and highly capable locomotive engineers.
John Viret Gooch 1841 - 1850
Joseph Hamilton Beattie 1850 - 1871
William George Beattie 1871 - 1877
William Adams 1877 - 1895
Dugald Drummond 1895 -1912
Robert Urie 1912-1923

Locomotive works

The locomotive works were at Nine Elms Locomotive Works from 1838 to 1908. Under Drummond they were moved to a new spacious site at Eastleigh in 1909.

★ List of locomotives

Locomotive Liveries

John Viret Gooch
Little information is available although from 1844 dark green with red and white lining, black wheels and red buffer beams seems to have become standard.
Joseph Hamilton Beattie
1850 - 1866
Passenger classes - Indian red with black panelling inside white. Driving splashers and cylinders lined white. Black wheels, smokebox and chimney. Vermilion buffer beams and buff footplate interior.
Goods classes - unlined Indian red. Older engines painted black until 1859.
1866 - 1872
All engines dark chocolate brown with 1-inch black bands edged internally in white and externally by vermillion. Tender sides divided into three panels.
William George Beattie
Paler chocolate known as purple brown with the same lining. From 1874 the white lining was replaced by yellow ochre and the vermillion by crimson.
William Adams
1878 - 1885
Umber brown with a 3in black band externally and bright green line internally. Boiler bands black with white edging. Buffer beams vermilion. Smokebox, chimney, frames etc black.
1885 - 1895
Passenger classes - Pea green with black borders edged with a fine white line. Boiler bands black with a fine white line to either side.
Goods classes - holly green with black borders edged by a fine bright green line.
Dugald Drummond
1895-1914
Passenger classes - royal green lined in chocolate, triple lined in white, black and white. Boiler bands black lined in white with 3-inch tan stripes to either side. Outside cylinders with black borders and white lining. Smokebox, chimney, exterior frames, tops of splashers, platform etc black. Inside of the main frames tan. Buffer beams vermilion and cab interiors grained pine.
Goods classes - holly green edged in black and lined in light green. Boiler bands black edged in light green.
Robert Urie
1914 - 1917
Passenger classes - olive green with Drummond lining.
Goods classes holly green with black edging and white lining.
1917 - 1923
Passenger classes - olive green with a black border and white edging.
Goods classes - holly green often without lining until 1918.

Other details

★ the longest tunnel is ''Honiton Tunnel'' 1,353 yards (1,218m); there were six others longer than 500 yards (450m)

★ the Waterloo and City Railway became part of the L&SWR

★ the L&SWR and the Midland Railway were joint owners of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway

★ The anglicised script version of the Russian word for railway station is 'vokzal'. A longstanding legend has it that a party from Russia planning their own railway system arrived in London around the time that the L&SWR's Vauxhall station was opened. They saw the station nameboards, thought the word was the English word for railway station and took it back home. In fact, the first Russian railway station was built on the site of pleasure gardens based on those at Vauxhall — nothing to do with the English railway station. [Fuller details are in the Vauxhall article]

See also

★ List of early British railway companies

References

1. Williams, R. A. (1968) ''The London & South Western Railway'', v. 1: The formative years, and v. 2: Growth and consolidation, David and Charles, ISBN 0-7153-4188-X; ISBN 0-7153-5940-1
2. Cobb, Col M. H., 2003; The Railways of Great Britain: A Historical Atlas; Ian Allan Publishing Ltd; ISBN 07110-3002-2


★ Dendy-Marshall, C. F. (1968) ''A history of the Southern Railway '', Kidner,R.W. (ed.), new ed., London: Allen, ISBN 0-7110-0059-X

★ Hamilton E.C. (1956) ''The South Western Railway: its mechanical history and background, 1838-1922'', George Allen & Unwin, 256 p.

★ Nock, O. S. (1971) ''The London & South Western Railway'', Ian Allen, ISBN 0-7110-0267-3

★ Williams, R. A. (1968) ''The London & South Western Railway'', v. 1: The formative years, and v. 2: Growth and consolidation, David and Charles, ISBN 0-7153-4188-X; ISBN 0-7153-5940-1

External links

★ South Western Circle