Railway Gazette ; Electric Railway Traction Supplement ; June 24 1938 : Southern Railway electrification ; Southern Electric ; Mid-Sussex and Sussex Coast lines ; 1938 : artwork by Pat Keely

Another striking cover for the Railway Gazette’s Electric Railway Traction Supplement ofJune 24 1938 that looks at the Southern Railway’s electrification scheme; the "Southern Electric, Mid-Sussex and Sussex Coast lines. It uses one of the Southern Railway’s posters for the pre-WW2 electrification programme – this was for the Mid-Sussex and Sussex Coast schemes that opened in 1938. This electrified the lines to Arundel, Littlehampton, Bognor Regis and Chichester. The graphic image is very bold – the winged electric train powering away from the capital to the countryside and coast.

The Southern’s electrification scheme was a huge and bold programme of works that saw the core of the current 3rd rail system still in use on Britain’s railways in southern England. The artwork, also used on posters and timetables, was by artist Pat Keely.

Posted by mikeyashworth on 2009-08-29 18:51:34

Tagged: , Southern Railway , Southern Electric , electrifiction , Kent , railways , electric railways , Arundel , Littlehampton , Bognor Regis , Chichester , Sussex , commercial art , 1938 , 1930s , Pat keely , Patrick Cokayne Keely , Mike Ashworth Collection , graphic design , lettering