108 Years of Southern Electric

The illustrated talk describes the development of the Southern Electric system from the earliest days when the LSWR electrified the line from Waterloo to Wimbledon via East Putney, their Riverside Electric route, using the dc third rail system in 1915; through the LBSCR overhead electrification almost right up to the modern day.

Included is the electrification of the inner and outer suburban area, and then the first main line electrification to Brighton and Worthing by the Southern Railway in 1933, continuing with the route through Chichester as part of Portsmouth phase 2 in 1938.     The presentation continues through the Kent Coast electrification and on to the Bournemouth line electrification of 1967, the Isle of Wight with its successive second hand rolling stock and concludes with more recent developments including Hastings, East Grinstead and Weymouth, whilst not forgetting the HS1 route to the Channel tunnel.