Eastleigh - Southern steam Mecca

Back in the 1960s among British railway enthusiasts Eastleigh seems to have inherited a ‘poor cousin’ image next to such railway centres as Swindon, Crewe, Doncaster, or Derby. Maybe this was due to its isolation from the major population centres, or possibly because Southern Region locomotives simply weren't as popular. Puzzling, because the scope in terms of numbers of locos and classes was second to none.

To the SR-based steam enthusiast, Eastleigh was relatively ‘pure’ from a loco point-of view right up to the summer of 1965. Steam dominated on most types of rail traffic into the town during the first half of the 1960s but, despite this, the Shed, with its 100-plus steam allocation, was surprisingly light on train spotters on a Sunday afternoon! So-much-so that the shed staff usually turned a blind eye to the odd notebook-toting 'gricer' (a popular term for train-spotters used by railwaymen). In six years of visiting Eastleigh MPD (almost fortnightly during 1961-63) I was never once asked to leave! The Works, of course, was a different matter.   

Classes from all regions could be seen on Eastleigh shed, apart from the Eastern and Scottish, and on some occasions over 25 pre-grouping classes alone were on shed! Living, as I did, on the ex-LSWR main line to Bournemouth meant that I had seen a fair number of Southern locomotives. But nothing could have prepared me for the sight that met my eyes on my first-ever visit to Eastleigh in September 1961 - T9s, AlXs, Ks, E4s, E6s, H16s (pic above), Beattie Well Tanks, 700s (pic below), etc, etc; locomotives one had only ever drooled over in those little ABC books turned this smoky steam depot into a special kind of Utopia! 

Eastleigh was a key depot in Central Southern England (even more so after the loss of Fratton’s allocation), providing motive power for Fawley-Bromford Bridge oil trains, Southampton Docks boat trains, Portsmouth-Bristol and South Wales trains, locals to Bournemouth and Salisbury, and all types of freight and parcels traffic from the Southampton/Portsmouth area. Eastleigh’s light Pacifics and Lord Nelsons would find themselves rostered on Waterloo-Weymouth and Waterloo Salisbury trains in company with Nine Elms, Bournemouth and Salisbury based locomotives. 

The condition of these engines was always a credit to the shed staff; even in their final days it was rare to see a grimy King Arthur. It is an intriguing fact that Eastleigh Works was still rebuilding steam locomotives up to 11 May 1961, when Bulleid Pacific 34104 'Bere Alston' was outshopped in its dramatically modified form - 14 months after Swindon completed British Railways’ last steam locomotive in March 1960. Some would argue that this isn't a fair comparison, but anyone viewing 34104 in 'before and after' mode might easily be convinced of the point I'm making.

‘Foreign’ locomotives were always a source of excitement for Eastleigh enthusiasts. My own personal milestones as far as Eastleigh visitors were concerned (barring enthusiast excursions) include a Shrewsbury County, 1017 'County of Hereford', and a Saltley Royal Scot, 46141 'North Staffordshire Regiment'.  The ‘Scot’ was due to leave Southampton Docks with a Fyffes Banana train the next day. So early the next morning I persuaded my disbelieving brother to give me a lift to Nursling and, sure enough, 46141 eventually came loping up the line from the Docks on its way to Salisbury and the North. Big Brother couldn’t believe his eyes! (See pic below) 

During the early to mid-1960s Eastleigh played host to Patriots, WDs, Jubilees, Fowler 4Fs, Stanier Class 5s, and 8Fs, Halls, Granges, Manors, 43xx, 28xx, Britannias, and many other engines from distant depots. I often wondered how a regular Saltley spotter would have reacted if he had seen an Eastleigh 700 or King Arthur on his shed one quiet morning!