The Southern Railway in the United Kingdom was the smallest of the four railway systems created in the Grouping ordered by the Railways Act 1921. Confined to the south of England, it owned no trackage north of London. In the area south and east of London the Southern Railway was a virtual monopoly, while its lines to the south-west were largely in competition with the Great Western Railway. The Railways Act of 1921, also known as the Grouping forcibly merged British railway companies into The Big Four, as of 1st January 1923. ... The Railways Act of 1921, also known as the Grouping forcibly merged British railway companies into The Big Four, as of 1st January 1923. ... Bristol Temple Meads railway station, the original terminus at Bristol. ...

Unlike the three other railway systems established by the Grouping (the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, the London and North Eastern Railway and the Great Western), the Southern Railway was predominantly a passenger-oriented railway. The number of passengers carried by the Southern were over a quarter of the nation's total. This is partly because the area covered by the railway encompassed the most populated areas of the nation and much of the commuter zone around London. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS1) was a British railway company. ... The London and North Eastern Railway or LNER was the second-largest of the Big Four railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. ...

Constituent companies

The major constituents of the Southern Railway were:

• The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) route mileage 1020.5 miles (1642 km); and six railways leased or worked by LSWR
• The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) 457.25 miles (736 km); two railways leased or worked by LBSCR; and also the Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway
• The combined systems of the South Eastern Railway and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway, under the South Eastern & Chatham Railways' Managing Committee (SECR) 637.75 miles (1026 km). These concerns had amalgamated on 1 January 1922.
• In addition there were the three Isle of Wight railways [a total of 55.75 miles (90 km)]; and railways leased or worked by the constituent companies.

All these concerns gave the Southern a route mileage of 2,186 (3517 km). The London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1840 to 1923. ... Early days The London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway or LB&SCR was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1923. ... The London and Greenwich Railway (LGR), together with the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway (CWR) in East Kent were the earliest railways to serve the then county of Kent: eventually both became parts of the South Eastern Railway (SER). ... Crest of the LCDR on the first Blackfriars Railway Bridge The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) was a railway company that operated in south-eastern England between 1859 and 1923 before grouping with three other companies to form the Southern Railway. ... Coat of Arms. ... The Isle of Wight is an island county off the south coast of England, opposite Southampton. ...

For the complete list, see List of constituent companies of the Southern Railway The Southern Railway was one of the Big Four railway companies set up after the 1923 Grouping. ...

Other assets

• Locomotives: 2390; coaching vehicles: 10,800; freight vehicles: 37,500; electric vehicles 460; rail motor cars: 14
• 38 large turbine or other steamers; and a number of other vessels
• 3.5 miles of canals
• docks, harbours etc at Southampton, Newhaven, Plymouth, Folkestone, Dover, Littlehampton, Whitstable, Strood, Rye, Queenborough, Port Victoria
• ten large hotels

Southampton is a city and major port situated on the south coast of England. ... Newhaven is the name of several places in the United Kingdom: Newhaven, East Sussex Newhaven, Derbyshire Newhaven, Edinburgh Newhaven is also the name of a racehorse who won the 1896 Melbourne Cup. ... This article is about Plymouth, England. ... Location within the British Isles. ... Location within the British Isles. ... Littlehampton is a town in the county of West Sussex on the south coast of England. ... Whitstable is a town in Kent, England with a population of 30,000. ... Location within the British Isles. ... Binomial name Secale cereale References: ITIS 42089 2002-09-22 Rye (Secale cereale) is a grass grown extensively as a grain and forage crop. ... Queenborough is a small town in Kent, England, which grew as a port near the Thames Estuary. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

Electrification

The density of much of the Southern's trackage and traffic made it a natural candidate for electrification; indeed the LSWR and the LBSCR had already introduced it for some of their lines in the London area before the grouping. The two schemes were incompatible, with the Brighton going for a 6600 V AC overhead system, very similar to that used by the Midland Railway for their Lancaster to Morecambe trial section. After the grouping a comparison of the two systems was made and the LSWR's 660V DC third rail standard was adopted for the whole system. Electrification refers to changing a thing or system to operate using electricity. ... Lancaster can refer to: Places In the United Kingdom: Lancaster, Lancashire (within the City of Lancaster) City of Lancaster In the United States: Lancaster, California Lancaster, Kansas Lancaster, Kentucky Lancaster, Massachusetts Lancaster, Minnesota Lancaster, Missouri Lancaster County, Nebraska Lancaster, New Hampshire Lancaster, New York: Lancaster (town), New York Lancaster (village... Location within the British Isles. ...

Most of the area immediately south of London was converted, together with the lines to Brighton, Eastbourne and Portsmouth. Only the London suburban part of the former SECR routes were electrified by the Southern Railway. Originally, only electric multiple unit trains were used, but later electric locomotives and electro-diesel hybrids were developed. The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben Tower Bridge at night A red double-decker bus crosses Piccadilly Circus. ... Brighton in East Sussex is one of the largest and most famous seaside resorts in England. ... Bold text:For other places called Eastbourne, see Eastbourne (disambiguation). ... This article is about the English city of Portsmouth. ... Illustration of the backyards of a surburban neighbourhood Suburbs are inhabited districts located either on the outer rim of a city or outside the official limits of a city (the term varies from country to country), or the outer elements of a conurbation. ... A multiple unit is a passenger train whose carriages have their own motors, either diesel (DMUs) or electric (EMUs), and do not need to be hauled by a locomotive. ... East German E 18 electric locomotives of the Deutsche Reichsbahn An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electric motors which draws current from an overhead wire, a third rail, or an on-board storage device such as a battery or a flywheel energy storage system. ...

Other notes

• Chief Mechanical Engineers of the Southern Railway, responsible for locomotives and rolling stock, included R. E. L. Maunsell and then, from 1937, O. V. S. Bulleid.

• The first general manager of the Southern Railway was Sir Hebert Walker.

• The name Southern has been revived as a rebranding of South Central, which operates a significant portion of the former Southern Railway routes to South London, Surrey and Sussex from Victoria and London Bridge.

• The name "Southern Railway" can still be seen above the eastern entrance to Victoria Station.

Richard Edward Lloyd Maunsell held the post of Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the the Southern Railway in the United Kingdom from the time of the 1923 Grouping until 1937. ... 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sir Herbert Ashcombe Walker (1868-1945) was general manager of the Southern Railway from 1923 until 1937. ... A Southern Class 171 Turbostar on display at the York Railfest exhibition on 3rd June 2004 prior to entering service. ...

See Also

• Locomotives of the Southern Railway

The Southern Railway took a key role in expanding the 660 V DC third rail electrified network begun by the London & South Western Railway. ...