London and South Western Railway

The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the <a href="/facts/London_and_Southampton_Railway/B5xFthfS">London and Southampton Railway</a>, its network extended to <a href="/facts/Dorchester%2c_Dorset/TQw66roU">Dorchester</a> and <a href="/facts/Weymouth%2c_Dorset/fKfFgDmo">Weymouth</a>, to <a href="/facts/Salisbury/NJoAdBsG">Salisbury</a>, <a href="/facts/Exeter/yTQmILuj">Exeter</a> and <a href="/facts/Plymouth/FhYcrnqf">Plymouth</a>, and to <a href="/facts/Padstow/mxm3Qmxx">Padstow</a>, <a href="/facts/Ilfracombe/T9FCXnj9">Ilfracombe</a> and <a href="/facts/Bude/mlJ8mlgw">Bude</a>. It developed a network of routes in <a href="/facts/Hampshire/omDltCzr">Hampshire</a>, <a href="/facts/Surrey/xTGvM5Vk">Surrey</a> and <a href="/facts/Berkshire/jpDjJrl6">Berkshire</a>, including <a href="/facts/Portsmouth/JxMGK6jC">Portsmouth</a> and <a href="/facts/Reading%2c_Berkshire/QH9uGAJY">Reading</a>.
The LSWR became famous for its express passenger trains to <a href="/facts/Bournemouth/1luGnWFx">Bournemouth</a> and Weymouth, and to Devon and Cornwall. Nearer London it developed a dense suburban network and was pioneering in the introduction of a widespread suburban electrified passenger network. It was the prime mover of the development of <a href="/facts/Port_of_Southampton/gd5QX6Yl">Southampton Docks</a>, which became an important ocean terminal as well as a harbour for cross channel services and for <a href="/facts/Isle_of_Wight/3mWfGanJ">Isle of Wight</a> ferries. Although the LSWR's area of influence was not the home of large-scale heavy industry, the transport of goods and mineral traffic was a major activity, and the company built a large marshalling yard at <a href="/facts/Feltham_marshalling_yard/IEm7Uruf">Feltham</a>. Freight, docks and shipping business provided almost 40 per cent of turnover by 1908. The company handled the rebuilding of <a href="/facts/London_Waterloo_station/24B1wPra">London Waterloo station</a> as one of the great stations of the world, and the construction of the <a href="/facts/Waterloo_%2526_City_line/1vR2ERWk">Waterloo & City line</a>, giving access to the City of London. The main line was quadrupled and several of the junctions on it were given grade-separation. It pioneered the introduction of power signalling. In the <a href="/facts/Second_Boer_War/LSEc1IgQ">Boer War</a> its connections at <a href="/facts/Aldershot/MwICscBY">Aldershot</a>, <a href="/facts/Portland_Harbour/lgsgbpNg">Portland</a>, and on <a href="/facts/Salisbury_Plain/KLpa0tyq">Salisbury Plain</a>, made it a vital part of the war effort, and later during the <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">First World War</a> it successfully handled the huge volume of traffic associated with bringing personnel, horses and equipment to the English channel ports, and the repatriation of the injured. It was a profitable company, paying a dividend of 5% or more from 1871.
Following the <a href="/facts/Railways_Act_1921/ghBtQylG">Railways Act 1921</a> the LSWR amalgamated with other railways to create the <a href="/facts/Southern_Railway_(UK)/502pTkKd">Southern Railway</a>, on 1 January 1923, as part of the grouping of the railways. It was the largest constituent: it operated 862 route miles, and was involved in joint ventures that covered a further 157 miles. In passing its network to the new Southern Railway, it showed the way forward for long-distance travel and outer-suburban passenger operation, and for maritime activity. The network continued without much change through the lifetime of the Southern Railway, and for some years following nationalisation in 1948. In Devon and Cornwall the LSWR routes duplicated former <a href="/facts/Great_Western_Railway/dFDmbH3d">Great Western Railway</a> routes, and in the 1960s they were closed or substantially reduced in scope. Some unsuccessful rural branch lines nearer the home counties closed too in the 1960s and later, but much of the LSWR network continues in busy use to the present day.

London and South Western Railway open-in-new

London and South Western Railway