MARSDEN RAIL
Volume 29
Southern Region Steam 2

This is the second programme in the Marsden Rail series to feature steam locomotives at work on the Southern Region of British Railways and complements Volume 25 'Southern Region Steam – Part One'.

The programme starts at London's Waterloo Station and is followed by views at Vauxhall and Clapham Junction. Also included is a journey on the last scheduled regular steam service to operate from Clapham Junction to Kensington Olympia.

Leaving the capital on the former London & South Western Railway's route to Southampton, we witness scenes at Guildford, Woking and Worting Junction with a wide variety of steam classes at work.

From Guildford's Peasmarsh Junction, the line to Christ's Hospital and Shoreham is traced, with almost every station on this now-closed route featured. Services in and around Eastleigh and Southampton then precede a crossing of the Solent on board a British Railways ferry to the Isle of Wight.

At its peak, the Isle of Wight's rail system could boast a route network totalling more than fifty miles served, until 1966, entirely by steam. This fascinating network of island services was handled by ex-LSWR Class '02' 0-4-4 tank locomotives and pre-grouping stock which created an almost 'Edwardian' atmosphere.

The Isle of Wight scenes, captured on film from the late 1950s until steam traction ended in December 1966, are a major highlight of this absorbing programme.

DVD Info

Region: 2
Running Time: 63 minutes