Southern Region Locomotives in the 1970s and 1980s

British Railways’ modernisation plan permitted individual regions to specify locomotives to fit their own requirements rather than opt for a ‘one size fits all’ policy. As a result, the Southern Region with its third rail network ended up with some very specialised locomotives. Its thrifty reuse and rebuild policy also influenced this. The Class 09 shunters stayed entirely on the Southern until privatisation. The Class 71s and the rebuilt Class 74s were all bar one example scrapped very early on. The Class 33s and Class 73s have over the years trundled well off the Southern, and the fact that many Class 73s are still in everyday service after sixty years shows how versatile they are – bi-modes decades before it became fashionable.

Andy Gibbs revisits Southern Region locomotives and charts their spread across the country during the 1970s and 1980s with a variety of fascinating and previously unpublished photographs.