1960s Southern Region Steam in Colour

George Woods uses his rare and unpublished full colour photography to look at steam in the Southern Region in the 1960s.

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Railway enthusiasts living in London in the 1960s saw steam gradually disappearing from the capital’s railways. By 1966, with a few exceptions only the south-western lines from Waterloo saw main-line steam in any quantity. Despite being in the middle of an all-electric system, steam somehow survived until July 1967 and was only outlasted by steam in the north-west of England, which lingered on for about another year.

George Woods sets out to show the highs and the lows of that period, with pictures taken at Waterloo, Weymouth, Salisbury, the Isle of Wight and beyond. Also featured are some of the many enthusiast specials that ran during this period, and the Army locos that ran on the Longmoor Military Railway. Utilising rare and unpublished full colour photography, this is a wonderfully nostalgic look back at the final years of steam in the Southern Region.