Southern Railway Constituent Companies

The Southern Railway was one of the "Big Four" railway companies set up after the Railways Act 1921 grouping.

Constituent companies

The following made up the Southern Railway as a result of the Railways Act 1921 and came into force on the 1st January 1923:

• London and South Western Railway (LSWR) 1,020 miles
• London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) 457.25 miles
• South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) 637.75 miles

• Total Mileage of the constituent companies was 2,115 miles

Subsidiary companies

Independently operated lines

• Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway 12 miles
• Isle of Wight Railway 15.25 miles
• Isle of Wight Central Railway 28.5 miles
• Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway 9.75 miles. The Bere Alston and Callington section

Non-working companies

• Originally leased to or worked by LSWR
  • Bridgewater Railway 7.25 miles
  • Lee-on-the-Solent Light Railway 3.5 miles
  • North Cornwall Railway 52.5 miles
  • Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway (portion used by LSWR) 2.25 miles
  • Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (except Bere Alston and Callington section as above) 19.5 miles
  • Sidmouth Railway 8.25 miles

• Originally leased to or worked by LBSCR
  • Brighton and Dyke Railway 3.5 miles
  • Hayling Railway 4.5 miles

Originally leased to or worked by SER or LCDR

• London and Greenwich Railway 3.75 miles
• Mid Kent Railway (Bromley to St Mary Cray) 2.5 miles

Other railways

• Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway (in which the Great Western Railway and the London and South Western Railway were also parties)
• Lynton and Barnstaple Railway: not covered by the Railways Act 1921, but absorbed by the LSWR. Narrow gauge - {1ft 11.5in} - 19.25 miles

Joint companies

• In 1923, now comprised wholly in the SR:
  • Croydon and Oxted Railway 12.5 miles (was SE&CR)
  • Dover and Deal Joint Railway 8.5 miles (was SE&CR)
  • Epsom and Leatherhead Railway 3.75 miles (was LB&SCR/LSWR joint)
  • Portsmouth and Ryde Railway (the ferry) 8.5 miles (was LBSCR/LSWR joint)
  • Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway 5.75 miles (was SE&CR)
  • Woodside and South Croydon Railway 2.5 miles (was LBSCR/ SE&CR joint)

• In 1923, in association with other companies:
  • East London Railway 5 miles (1/3 share with London and North Eastern Railway and Metropolitan Railway)
  • Easton and Church Hope Railway 3.5 miles (jointly with Great Western Railway (GWR))
  • Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 105 miles (with London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSR))
  • West London Extension Railway 5.25 miles (shares with GWR and LMSR)
  • Weymouth and Portland Railway 5.5 miles (jointly with GWR)

The information in this article was taken from the Railway Magazine for February 1923

• Return to Southern Railway

See Also

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Sources of Information

• [1] Wikipedia