08 February 2024 109 Years of Southern Electric
Presenter: Stuart Hicks
On the afternoon of 8th February an audience of 40 heard Stuart Hicks give an illustrated talk about the 109 years of Southern Electric. Prior to 1923 the LBSC had electrified a few south London lines using overhead whilst the LSWR had electrified using third rail. After amalgamation the SR Board decided to use third rail and all overhead lines were converted by 1930. In the 1920s the SR extended electrification to most South London suburbs and by 1930 had electrified to Brighton and Worthing on the south coast.
New suburban and longer distance passenger stock was introduced, including the Pullman Brighton Belle. The success of these extensions led to electrification to Eastbourne, Bexhill and Hastings, Portsmouth via Guildford and Havant via Horsham and Barnham by 1938 and Reading and Maidstone by 1939.
After WW2 new all steel suburban stock was introduced together with locomotives to haul freight and boat trains to the channel ports. The next extensions to the electrified network were to Kent between 1959 and 1962 and to Bournemouth via Southampton in 1967. These led to the demise of steam in Kent and in the entire southern region respectively. Subsequent electrifications were to Weymouth (1988) and the Solent area (1990).
