Alfred Raworth's Electric Southern Railway

The Southern Railway's Southern Electric was a successful programme of electrification completed on time and within budget, driven by Sir Herbert Walker and Alfred Raworth, an electrification genius.

Format: Hardback
Length: 376 pages
Publication date: 16 February 2022
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

The Southern Railway, operating between 1923 and 1939, stands as a remarkable exception in British history, undertaking a sustained electrification program that became widely recognized as the Southern Electric. Unlike numerous recent projects, this initiative saw each incremental step completed promptly and within budget. What makes this achievement even more impressive is that it was achieved during a period of economic stagnation, including the infamous Great Depression, and despite government disapproval of the electrification method. At the helm of this ambitious endeavor was Sir Herbert Walker, the railway's general manager, but it was his electrical engineer, Alfred Raworth, who played a pivotal role. Alfred Raworth's career began with his father, John Smith Raworth, a renowned consulting engineer and entrepreneur. Following the collapse of his father's business, Alfred joined the railway industry and developed an ambitious and innovative electrification design. Unfortunately, this design was discarded when the railways of southern England were amalgamated into the Southern Railway. Nonetheless, Alfred took on the responsibility of implementing the electrification schemes. With Walker's retirement in 1937, those who advocated for steam traction assumed the policy lead. A marginalized Raworth retired, but he would later witness the realization of many of his previously discarded ideas.

Weight: 1734g
Dimension: 227 x 289 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526778413