London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

Book excerpt: The London, Brighton & South Coast Railway evokes many different images, for it was essentially a railway of contrasts - for some it represented holidays to the South Coast resorts of Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings and Worthing that were all in their heyday, and for others it was a commuter line, taking them on their daily journey through the sprawling South London suburbs to work in the City. This album seeks to capture these contracts from the urban landscape of South London to the heart of rural Sussex, from the rolling Downland to the wooded valleys of the Weald and from high society on a visit o the races at Epsom to day-trippers escaping the dirt and grime of London for the sea air of Brighton. As well as the variety of landscapes and passengers which gave the line its character, this book also looks at the development of the LB&CSR's locomotives over some sixty years. Because of their stylish appearance and the fact that many of them wee named after districts served by the railway, they had a particular appeal to the public that was not limited to the railwayists of the day. Trains, too, varied greatly - from the sublime in the shape of the magnificent 'Southern Belle, to the rather more prosaic suburban services.