South Eastern Railway (England)

British pre-grouping railway company / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The South Eastern Railway (SER) was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent. The SER absorbed or leased other railways, some older than itself, including the London and Greenwich Railway and the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. Most of the company's routes were in Kent, eastern Sussex and the London suburbs, with a long cross-country route from Redhill in Surrey to Reading, Berkshire.

South_eastern_railway_crest.jpg
The South Eastern Railway's crest
Offices_of_the_South_Eastern_Railway_in_London_-_Redvers.jpg
The South Eastern Railway's former headquarters in Tooley Street, London, near London Bridge station.
S_england_railways_1840.jpg
Railways in the South East of England in 1840
Kent_Railways.svg
Railway lines in Kent, SER lines can be seen alongside LCDR, LBSCR, etc. lines

Much of the company's early history saw attempts at expansion and feuding with its neighbours; the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in the west and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) to the north-east. However, in 1899 the SER agreed with the LCDR to share operation of the two railways, work them as a single system (marketed as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway) and pool receipts: but it was not a full amalgamation. The SER and LCDR remained separate companies until becoming constituents of the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923.