A further volume in our popular “Miscellany” series and the sixth episode to cover steam on the Southern Region of British Railways between 1961 and 1967. Here we feature much previously unseen footage from the South Western Division along with some footage of the Somerset & Dorset. The running order is that of the original cine film as it runs off the reels.

We start with film taken from West London Junction Signal Box before moving down to the Somerset & Dorset line. Here there is excellent coverage of the toing’s and froing’s at Templecombe including the station, the engine shed and even the little used lower platform. All followed by an Ivatt Class 2 hauled southbound trip to Blandford Forum via Henstridge, Stalbridge, Sturminster Newton and Shillingstone.

We now return to the LSWR main line from London to cover it’s first fifty miles or so. At Waterloo there is quite a lot of activity in and around the station itself as well as lovely panoramas of the approaches filmed from (the well known and overlooking) block of flats to the west of the line. Moving on there are scenes at Vauxhall, West London Junction, and at Clapham Junction including it’s famous overhead signal box both before and after it’s partial collapse in May 1965. The activity at Clapham is continuous and busy with empty stock trains, milk tank workings, the odd freight train, EMUs (including the “Brighton Belle”), steam-hauled expresses (including the “Bournemouth Belle”), semi-fast and many other scenes which cannot be repeated from all these years ago.

Moving west, we visit Kew, Clapham cutting, Raynes Park, Surbiton, Esher, Hersham, Winchfield, Basingstoke and Battledown flyover. Further west and visits are made to Eastleigh shed, Southampton Central, Lyndhurst Road, Lymington Junction, the Christchurch area, Dorchester South before concluding at Upwey & Broadway.

Mysteriously (and a surprise) there was a brief visit to the Seaton to Stamford push-pull in the East Midlands on one of the Somerset & Dorset cine film reels. We have left that in as an added bonus!

Motive power seen in this volume includes (in no particular order) ex-SR Bulleid pacifics from the Merchant Navy, West Country and Battle of Britain classes, Schools, Lord Nelson, King Arthur, Q1, Maunsell 2-6-0 moguls, H, W, T9, M7, H16, S15, USA tanks, ex-GWR 57xx panniers, 2251 0-6-0s, ex-LMS 4Fs, S&D 2-8-0s, Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2Ts, BR Standard Class 5 4-6-0s, Class 4 2-6-0s, Class 4 2-6-4Ts, and 9F 2-10-0s (including 92220 “Evening Star” on the S&DJR). Also putting in appearances are the odd Warship, NBLType 2, EE Type 1 Bo-Bo, and even electro-diesels. Plus, of course, a variety of EMUs including the “Brighton Belle” Pullman.

Filmed entirely in colour we have added an authentic sound track and an informative commentary to complement another nostalgic look at the last years of Southern Region steam.

Maunsell

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B & R No. 238 DVD, Southern Steam Miscellany No. 6

Ken Wightman’s Southern Region Steam

Large Tank Locomotive Classes of the Southern Railway

Maunsell Moguls

Southern Steam Days Remembered II by Kevin Derrick

Southern Steam Days Remembered III by Kevin Derrick