London and South Western Railway

When the London and Southampton Railway was being constructed, it was realised that new business would be generated, and the dock facilities at Southampton needed to be extended. The Southampton Docks Company was created for that purpose in May 1836, with capital of £350,000. The area chosen was the town beach, at the confluence of the rivers Test and Itchen.

Over the following two decades there was a constant process of building larger and deeper facilities as vessels in use were larger, more numerous, and in need of additional repair facilities. By 1858 £706,000 had been spent.

In 1873 a further extension of the quay southwards down the river Itchen was undertaken, culminating in the formation of the Empress Dock between 1886 and 1890. The dock company was unable to raise the finance for the work, and obtained a loan of £250,000 from the London and South Western Railway. Southampton was able to take the largest vessels afloat at any state of the tide.

Ocean liner services and sleeping cars

Beginning in April 1904, the LSWR operated a boat train service between Devonport Stonehouse Pool and Waterloo in connection with American Line transatlantic ocean liners, and from May 1907, liners of the White Star Line as well. On 30 June 1906, one of these trains, with five coaches carrying 48 passengers from the American liner New York, was wrecked in the Salisbury rail crash. The boat trains included restaurant cars, and in 1908, four sleeping cars were built at Eastleigh for the Plymouth boat trains. Each sleeping car had seven single-berth first-class compartments and two twin-berth third-class compartments. They did not last long: under an agreement made in May 1910 between the LSWR and GWR, passengers disembarking at Plymouth were carried to London on GWR services, and the LSWR boat trains from Plymouth were withdrawn. With the end of the ocean liner services, all four sleeping cars were sold to the GWR.

LSWR shipping services

The LSWR developed a considerable cross channel shipping business. As well as passenger ferries to the Isle of Wight (also from Portsmouth and Lymington) there was a substantial cargo business to French ports on the English Channel.

In 1892 the Port of Southampton was the only port in the world able to take the deepest draught vessels at any state of the tide, but the dock company was not financially secure. The undertaking was purchased by the LSWR on 1 November 1892 for £1.36 million. The LSWR immediately started investing in further extensions and improvements to the docks. These were very substantial, e.g. Prince of Wales Dry Dock opened in 1895, was the largest in the world.

The Victoria (Royal) Pier was substantially enlarged in 1892 and lengthened to include a pavilion, tea rooms, and a bandstand. A railway from the terminus station served both the Quay and the pier.

Accidents and incidents

On 11 September 1880, a light engine was waiting at Nine Elms Locomotive Junction on the Down Main Line; it was to move into the locomotive depot. Seven persons were killed. There was a changeover of signalling staff, and the engine was forgotten. A down passenger train was accepted by the signalman and the train ran into the light engine.

On 6 August 1888, a light engine and a passenger train were in a head-on collision at Hampton Wick station. Four people were killed and fifteen were injured. The light engine was started away from Kingston by hand signal, and the signalman there had failed to set the points for the correct line; the engine was running on the wrong line.

On 1 July 1906, an Up Boat Train Express passenger train was derailed at Salisbury due to excessive speed on a curve. A 30 mph (48 km/h) speed restriction applied to the curve at the east end of the station. Twenty-eight persons were killed and eleven were injured. The driver appeared not to react to the proximity of the speed restriction, yet he was a total abstainer and there were no other explanatory factors, either human or mechanical.

On 4 June 1913, near Earlsfield on the L&SWR, relaying foreman, George Collins was measuring rails between the running lines when around 11.25 am Collins was struck by an approaching express train on the fast line, and sustained fatal injuries.