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    The Southern After Steam: A Vision in Blue and Grey
    The Southern After Steam: A Vision in Blue and Grey
    The Southern After Steam: A Vision in Blue and Grey
    Ebook222 pages1 hour

    The Southern After Steam: A Vision in Blue and Grey

    By Don Benn

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    About this ebook

    After the end of steam on the Southern in July 1967, the author concentrated primarily on recording the Southern scene, to start with in black and white and then from 1972 in color. In so doing he built up a huge collection of slides for the period 1972 to 1988 concentrating on the lines close to his Kent home or in the London area but also with some images taken on the Central and Western Division main lines.

    The book contains more than 260 high quality color images of second generation rolling stock set out by class of electric or diesel multiple units and locomotives, ranging from 4 SUBs and EPBs through Hastings Diesel units to Class 73 Electro-Diesels, a total of fifteen classes all told. The severe winters of 1985 and 1987 are also included and Departmental stock isn’t forgotten. Lovers of the Southern Region in the 1970s and 80s prior to the introduction of replacement stock will find much of interest in this book.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPen and Sword
    Release dateJul 30, 2019
    ISBN9781526700100
    The Southern After Steam: A Vision in Blue and Grey
    Author

    Don Benn

    Don Benn was born in South London and developed a love of trains and steam locomotives from an early age. Most of his career was spent in the transport industry, both public and private sector, including owning and running his own bus company. He spent many hours covering the end of Southern Steam and, following this chased down remaining steam in Europe but also developing a serious interest in so called modern traction. Since retirement in 2008 he has worked part time for a number of transport companies, writes a monthly column for a railway magazine and has written a number of books. He lives with his wife near Southampton, close to his two granddaughters.

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      Book preview

      The Southern After Steam - Don Benn

      PREFACE

      Although I am better known for my books and articles on steam, I was brought up and have lived all my life in Southern Electric territory, being born in Sydenham and then living in St Mary Cray, Bromley, West Wickham, Ashford (Kent), Paddock Wood, Robertsbridge and now Locks Heath near to Swanwick on the Fareham to Southampton line. It is therefore natural that I have always had a keen interest in Southern electric and diesel stock, though the modern scene doesn’t attract me as much as the traditional stock. My library of negatives from the early years of my pursuit of photography contains many shots of Southern EMUs as well as steam. Many hours were spent on the footbridge at Bromley South station or at Bickley or Orpington. Also from very early days I made use of day rover tickets to explore the Southern empire further afield and was fascinated by the pre-war stock still running in the early 1960s on the Central and South Western Divisions. Very few shots were taken in colour as this was reserved for special occasions, such as the last day of the Westerham branch on 28 October 1961 when I took the shot at Elmers End on the way to Dunton Green. After the end of steam on the Southern in July 1967, I concentrated primarily on recording the Southern scene, to start with in black and white and then from 1972 in colour using mainly 35mm Kodachrome 25 film with a Praktica, and later from 1977 ‘until it was stolen’ my trusty Pentax KX with a variety of lenses. I also used a Bronica 6x4.5 camera with Ektachrome slide film from about 1981 for a few years. In so doing I built up a huge collection of slides for the period 1972 to 1988. After that my time for the next ten years was spent trying to run a transport business and I didn’t really resume my railway interests until the digital era which began for me in 2005. All this therefore explains the period which this book covers. I tended to concentrate on the lines close to home or in the London area and so there is some bias in that respect, for which I make no apology. In fact there is very little of EMUs on the Central and South Western Division main lines. I also tried to record as many loco-hauled trains as possible and there was a surprising amount of that in the period covered plus of course chasing the unusual. Recording on film and with my stopwatch the final years of classes was also paramount and if I had to choose my all-time favourite Southern unit class then it would have to be the Hastings DEMUs. This book is primarily a colour photo album but I have included some details of the trains in the introduction to each section and also representative train performance logs, many from the 1960s. As I didn’t start colour slide photography until late August 1972, I only have black-and-white shots of the last of the pre-war stock, the 4 COR units, in normal service, and of the Brighton Belle and the Golden Arrow, all of which finished during 1972, so these are included for completeness. As far as the multiple units are concerned this book only covers the second generation stock and not therefore the replacements such as the 455s and 508s which were gradually introduced from the late 1970s. I scanned over 1,000 slides out of a total of about 10,000 for this book and so choosing the final selection meant that about three quarters of the scans have been set aside, maybe for another book?

      figure

      Bromley South on Sunday, 12 February 1961. 4 EPB 5216 is reversing into the up platform having terminated with a Victoria to Orpington stopping service. In the background can be seen the footbridge where the author spent so many happy hours and witnessed the end of steam working in the area. Note that the headcode blinds haven’t been changed.

      figure

      BR design 1960 built 4 EPB 5338 at Bromley South on an up train when new in August 1960.

      figure

      Bickley, September 1960. CEP 7128 on a Victoria to Ramsgate service. In the carriage siding is a 4 EPB unit in the 1957 Phase 1 series.

      figure

      4 EPB 5344 shunts back through the carriage washer and into the shed at Orpington, September 1960

      figure

      Guildford, 18 September 1960. 2 BIL unit 2067 on a stopping service from Waterloo to Portsmouth and Southsea. Although 2 BILs were built in batches for specific schemes they were over time moved around. However, in this picture 2067 is on ‘home ground’ and on a working it was originally intended for, having been built as part of the batch for the Portsmouth No. 2 electrification scheme.

      figure

      Elmers End, 28 October 1961. 2 EPB unit 5706 has just arrived from Addiscombe. This platform is now used by the Croydon Tramlink.

      figure

      London Bridge, August 1971. The evening rush hour on the South Eastern side. A selection of EPB units including 5034 leading a Hayes to Charing Cross service, headcode 34.

      INTRODUCTION

      Each section contains some details of the main classes of units and locomotives featured in this book as they were at the end of 1979. This isn’t intended to be complete or to cover all the variations or revised formations within each class but is to set the scene for the photographs which follow. Most of the multiple units and the Southern Region based locomotives were renumbered from the early 1980s. I haven’t included full details of remaining pre-war stock which just lasted into 1972, though there are a few images of them, including some of the preserved stock. In 1972 sectorisation was still in the future and all over blue was common with suburban stock. From 1980 blue and grey became the norm for suburban stock, though main-line stock had used this livery since the late 1960s. Inter City and Freight sector liveries also came onto the scene. I have used the traditional Southern Region number classification throughout for multiple units, e.g. CEP not 411. The superb Network South East was established in 1986, bringing its vivid ‘toothpaste’ colour scheme, unifying not only the former Southern Region but all of London and the South-East, and somewhat beyond. In addition to the indigenous stock, I have included the Western Region units which worked right across Southern territory through Guildford and Redhill to Tonbridge and the class 47s which appeared on Inter Regional trains and on some freight on the South Western Division.

      CHAPTER ONE

      PRE-WAR ELECTRIC MULTIPLE UNIT STOCK

      1936 Stock: The 4 SUB

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