Odd Corners of the Southern

The author presents a collection of facts and photographs to shed light on the long history of the Southern Region of BR and its predecessors. The age of Southern steam was made of more than locomotives and trains - it also consisted of rolling stock, paperwork and all the infrastructure of a complex transport system. The book aims to illustrate these often overlooked aspects of the railway, as observed during the 1950s and 1960s but with origins identified as early as the mid-19th century. It covers the whole of the Southern area, from Kent to Cornwall, including the Isle of Wight and a selection of closed lines and stations. The book features rare and commonplace examples of station architecture, yards, sheds, signal types, signal-boxes, trackwork, bridges, coaches, wagons, electrification, signs, lamps, maps, tickets and notices, as well as ordinary railwaymen and their work.



ALAN POSTLETHWAITE is a Chartered Engineer who took early retirement to become a railway author, and is a lifelong lover of railways. He was a prolific photographer during the last days of steam and has had a number of pictorial. He lives at Stroud, Gloucestershire.