- For other uses see Southern Railway
The Southern Railway (SR), was one of the Big Four British railway companies from 1923 to 1948. It was established under the Railways Act 1921. The railway was formed by the amalgamation of smaller companies. The largest of these were the London and South Western Railway, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, and the South Eastern and Chatham Railway.
The SR contained notable examples of civil engineering, linking London with the Channel ports, South West England and Kent. Construction of what was to become the Southern began in 1838 with the opening of the London and Southampton Railway, which was renamed the London and South Western Railway.