In the second of his series looking at gaps in the ‘OO’ gauge ready to run market, TREVOR JONES turns his attention to the Southern Railway and its constituents.
The Southern Railway, the smallest of the four groupings, inherited 2,400 locomotives at inauguration and was formed from three major companies - the South Eastern & Chatham Railway (SECR), London Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR) and London & South Western Railway (LSWR). There were also four minor railways.
Each of the major companies had their own Works at Ashford, Brighton and Eastleigh respectively. This gave a great varied range of locomotive types, many of which survived beyond nationalisation in 1948. Compared to the Great Western Railway and London Midland & Scottish Railway, the Southern and its constituents historically weren't all that well served by the ready-to-run manufacturers in ‘OO’ gauge, but in recent years this has changed.
Above: Trevor Jones’ latest survey of missing ‘OO’ gauge models focuses on Southern Railway prototypes and includes the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) ‘H15’ 4-6-0. On April 17 1949, 30491 passes Winchfield with an empty milk train for the West Country. Rail Archive Stephenson.
For SECR modellers, we…
