South West Main Line From London Waterloo to Eastleigh : From LSWR to Network SouthEast

The South West Main Line to connect London with the port of Southampton and on to Weymouth was built by the London & South Western Railway (LSWR), with the first stages opening in the 1830s and 1840s. By the time the terminus at Waterloo opened in 1848 the line was complete to the old Terminus station at Southampton by the docks. This station has since closed but the line serves passengers today from London, through Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset. Over the years it has seen changes of ownership from the LSWR, to the Southern Railway in the 1923 Grouping, British Railways after Nationalisation in 1948, until privatisation in the 1990s. During this time rolling stock changed markedly too, from steam to modern traction, the line electrified and infrastructure and signalling steadily modernised.

This photographic survey of the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to the major junction of Eastleigh, with photographs and other illustrations from the early days of the line under London & South Western Railway ownership to Network SouthEast and the end of BR, will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of railways in this area and in the changes in Britain’s railways in general over the years.