Southern Rails on Southampton Docks: Including the Industrial Lines of Southampton

At their peak the railways of Southampton Docks had a total length of seventy-seven miles with nearly a thousand hand-operated points and no signals. This was an amazing system playing a key role in the transport of freight and passengers around the world.

‘Southern Rails on Southampton Docks’ is the fourth volume in the award-winning ‘Southern Rails’ series, which is an innovative approach to railway history. Backed by extensive research this book provides a fascinating insight into the development of the docks railways and how they worked. It covers the goods operations in the docks, and also the various types of passenger traffic with a particular emphasis on the history of the boat trains.

This volume also details many of the other lines in and around Southampton including the Harbour Board lines to Town Quay and the Royal Pier, the line serving the wharves at Northam, the Chapel and Eling Tramways, as well as the line to Dibles Wharf. In addition there are sections on the line supplying Southampton Power Station, and also the Train Ferries and Ambulance trains that ran from the docks during the two world wars.

It features over 250 photographs, many previously unpublished. In addition there are colour plans, maps and ephemera, all of which enhance the stories of some of the city’s lesser-known railways.

‘A first-rate guide to the docks railways’ Steam World June 2013