Matrix Trains LSWR Carriage Sets - PRE-GROUPING ERA -

The London & South Western Railway was probably the only true main-line company (and certainly the largest) of the three railways that found themselves grouped into the Southern Railway when the railways of Britain were amalgamated in 1923. The lines of the ex-LSWR served the commuter lands of South West London and the main lines to Portsmouth, Bournemouth (and, to some extent, Weymouth), plus the West of England.

A feature of the LSWR and its successors was the extensive use made of fixed formations of coaches, operated and maintained in ‘sets’, with the set number painted prominently on each end. The operating department set the correct number and balance of first- and third-class seats, plus appropriate luggage accommodation. Trains could be formed of multiples of sets, and ‘loose’ coaches added for strengthening at busy times. This package provides examples of various non-corridor sets as used on the lines of the LSWR and its successors.