CELEBRATING SOUTHERN REGION STEAM
It was 50 years ago this summer that steam finished on the Southern Region. Unlike the grotty ‘Black Fives’ and ‘8Fs’ that would dominate the news from the following year, the Southern’s last Bulleid ‘Pacifics’ and Standard 4-6-0s, 2-6-0s and 2-6-4Ts were hauling passenger trains on the main lines out of London, not freight. The locomotives may have been in a frightful external state, but enginemen were determined to go with a bang rather than a whimper, on the lines to Salisbury and Weymouth, via Southampton. The racing stretch of the ex-london & South Western Railway main line through Hook and Winchfield in Hampshire lived up to its name as crews regularly coaxed their steam-powered steeds to over 100mph. But, on July 9 1967, it was all over. To commemorate this bitter-sweet anniversary, PAUL A. LUNN presents a selection of layout ideas based on three classic end of Southern steam locations.