SOUTHERN ELECTRIC SLAM-DOOR STOCK: The Final Years

From the early 1950s onwards, as a result both of replacement of older rolling stock and the expansion of the electrified network, a vast number of new Electric Multiple-Units were constructed by BR’s workshops for operation on the Southern Region. Right up until the Bournemouth electrification scheme of the mid-1960s, traditional slam-door rolling stock was the norm and it was only in the late 1970s, when replacements for some suburban stock were required, that automatic doors were first introduced.

Concerns over safety as well as the ageing profile of the fleet resulted in a decision that all surviving slam-door stock was to be eliminated from operation on the erstwhile SR. With the exception of two units retained for the Lymington branch service, the final slam-door units were withdrawn towards the end of 2005. To mark the end of this era, Roger Palmer has compiled this selection of some 85 colour images to illustrate the swansong of the traditional slam-door EMU. With detailed captions supplementing the photographs, the book is a fitting tribute to a type of unit that has been a familiar sight in southern England for almost a century. This book will be sought after by all interested in the Southern EMUs and all those who model the SR network. 

Author: Roger Palmer
Format: HB 80 pages
Publisher: Ian Allan Ltd
Pub date: June 2006
ISBN 10: 0711031088
ISBN 13: 9780711031081

List Price: £14.99