Published in February this year by Pen & Sword and written by Peter Steer, this hardback book measures around 28.2 cm x 22.35 cm, is 344 pages long, has 87 black and white photographs, illustrations, and maps, and a 16-page colour plate section.

It has a published price of £40, and at the time of writing it can be obtained online from Pen & Sword for a 10% discount and from Amazon for £27.24. The quality of the finished product is impeccable.

This book is in two parts, with 13 chapters in the first part that describes Raworth’s background in electric traction, and 12 chapters in the second part that describes in great detail the reasoning behind abandoning overhead electricity supply in favour of third rail electrification.

Within its covers, we get to understand Raworth’s influence behind the electrification of the Southern Railway, and how he should be credited with its drive to become one of the world’s most significant electrified railways.

It is a masterpiece of railway history, as when talking about the great designers of the Southern Railway and Southern Region the names Adams, Maunsell, and Bulleid spring to mind, foremost among them should also be Alfred Raworth. That is a strange but deserved legacy, but it must not be forgotten that Raworth was responsible for building the greatest suburban electric railway in the world.

Peter Steer is a former engineer who appears to have gone to great pains to ensure that when reading his book, non-technical readers don’t feel intimidated by technical jargon and complicated concepts.

Biographical details of Raworth’s achievements are woven together with much information about his early life and his involvement with the family firm. It strikes the right balance as to how much detail to include when dealing with technical matters such as alternating and direct current, that need to be considered when designing an electric railway from first principles.

It soon becomes clear that there were often rocky relationships between the drive to electrification, the constant friction between the pre-grouping companies, the men from the ministry and the Southern Railway’s General Manager Herbert Walker.

Peter Steer dissects the many debates over electrification, the choices between overhead or third rail supply, and the uncertainty on electrical supply and technology. With superb skill, he describes, in laymen’s terms, how Raworth and his colleagues overcame what seemed to be the unsurmountable technical challenges that they faced.

Throughout the book there are numerous maps showing the locations of the various substations and other important infrastructure points. The map on the left below stands out as it shows the London, Brighton, and South Coast Rail’s 6.7 kV overhead electric network. Equally interesting is the photo on the right showing an overhead electric train in operation.

In the early years of the Southern Railway, the company wasted no effort in extending the reach of suburban electrification as seen below.

Alfred Raworth will forever be synonymous with the Southern Railway’s suburban electrification, but he did venture into building the electric locomotives CC1 and CC2 seen here, with OVS Bulleid being responsible for the mechanical elements of their design.

Although the book is mainly narrative with comparatively few illustrations, a 16-page colour section enhances the reader’s understanding of how Raworth’s electrification schemes fitted in with other schemes that were being implemented around the same time.

The author’s attention to detail can be judged by the maps below which, although presented in landscape format, clearly show an easy to follow outline.

The book is available to purchase from Amazon and from Pen & Sword.

We would like to thank Pen & Sword for providing RailAdvent with a copy of the book for review.