Southern Railway - SR Page 3: Southampton Services

This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of the ships built for the Southampton-based services of the Southern Railway (SR). these services were inherited from the London & South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1923, and passed to British Railways in 1948. An alphabetical list of ships shown on this page is shown below. The Table beneath gives links to complete history pages on selected individual ships. Below the table is a Fleet List in chronological order.
Ships on This Page:- Brittany - 1933-1963 Dinard - 1924-1959
Falaise - 1947-1974 Isle of Guernsey - 1930-1961 Isle of Jersey - 1930-1960 Isle of Sark - 1931-1961 St. Briac - 1924-1942 Southern Railway Pages:-
British Railways - Header page for all UK railway-owned Services
London & South Western Railway - LSWR Southampton Services
London Brighton & South Coast Railway - LBSC Newhaven-Dieppe Services
South Eastern & Chatham Railway - SECR Dover/Folkestone Services
Southern Railway - Page 1 - Dover Services
Southern Railway - Page 2 - Newhaven Services
Southern Railway - Page 3 - Southampton Services - this page
Southern Railway - Page 4 - Isle of Wight Services
Associated Pages:-
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards Home Page

References:-
Merchant Fleets No.25 - Britain's Railway Steamers by Duncan Haws (1993)
Railway & Other Steamers by Duckworth & Langmuir

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powered by FreeFind Table of Ship Histories Name Other names Built Brittany Ålandsfärjan 1933 Dinard Viking 1924 SR Fleet ListSouthampton Services Dinard (SR: 1924-1947) (BR: 1948-1959)
Dinard served on the night route between Southampton and St Malo, for which a speed of 19 knots was adequate. She served with distinction in World War 2, being both at Dunkirk and Normandy, but required major refurbishment after being returning to civilian service. The demand for the transportation of cars to France was increasing, so Dinard was rebuilt as a car-ferry, returning to service in June 1947 between Dover (and Folkestone) and Boulogne, with tonnage reduced to 1769 gross tons, and a capacity of 363 passengers and 70 cars. She passed to the nationalised British Railways in 1948. At this stage cars were still crane-loaded aboard, but in 1953 she received modifications to the stern, allowing cars to be loaded over a ramp, inaugurating the drive-on service between Dover and Boulogne on which Dinard remained until withdrawn in 1958.

Instead of being scrapped, Dinard was sold to become the first ship of mighty Baltic ferry giants Viking Line, whose operations began on 1st June 1959 between Gräddö and Korppoo, for Åland owners Gunnar Eklund and Henning Rundberg. They renamed her Viking, after further modifications to car capacity and appearance had been made. Complete history of Dinard Kingsway (W.H.Smith) real photographic postcard S.15635 of Dinard. As delivered for the Southampton to St Malo overnight route in 1924. The minimal white upperworks was the style of the London & South Western Railway, who had become part of the Southern Railway at the Railway Grouping of 1923. Real Photographs postcard 839 of Dinard with increased white superstructure. Laurent-Nel postcard 2764 (Rennes) of Dinard at St Malo. The card was posted from St Malo in August 1934. Valentines postcard K5181 of Dinard at Dover as a car ferry after the war. Photo Precision postcard 4-615 of Dinard at Dover. As a car ferry after the war, using the same photograph as the card above. D.Constance photographic postcard of Dinard at Dover as a car ferry after the war. A.Duncan photographic postcard of Dinard at Dover as a car ferry after the war. St. Briac (SR: 1924-1942)

St Briac was built for the Southern Railway in 1924. She was 2,291 gross tons, and served from Southampton on routes to France and the Channel Islands. In 1942 she was mined and sunk off Aberdeen, with the loss of 43 lives. C.R.Hoffman postcard of St Briac. Photographic postcard of St Briac in dry dock (and fog!). Isle of Guernsey (SR: 1930-1947) (BR: 1948-1961)
Isle of Guernsey (2,143 gross tons) was built in 1930 for the Southampton-Channel Islands services of the Southern Railway. She passed to British Railways (Southern Region) in 1948, and was scrapped in 1961. Her sisters were Isle of Jersey and Isle of Sark Postcard of Isle of Guernsey Postcard of Isle of Guernsey Postcard of Isle of Guernsey Postcard of Isle of Guernsey Postcard of Isle of Guernsey Postcard of Isle of Guernsey Postcard of Isle of Guernsey Isle of Jersey (SR: 1930-1947) (BR: 1948-1961)
Isle of Jersey (2,143 gross tons) was built in 1930 for the Southampton-Channel Islands services of the Southern Railway. She passed to British Railways (Southern Region) in 1948, and was sold to Libya in 1960 and renamed Libda. Her sisters were Isle of Guernsey and Isle of Sark Postcard of Isle of Jersey Postcard of Isle of Jersey Postcard of Isle of Jersey Postcard of Isle of Jersey Postcard of Isle of Jersey Isle of Jersey as a hospital ship in WW2. Isle of Sark (SR: 1931-1947) (BR: 1948-1961)
Isle of Guernsey (2,211 gross tons) was built in 1931 for the Southampton-Channel Islands services of the Southern Railway. She passed to British Railways (Southern Region) in 1948, and was scrapped in 1961. Her sisters were Isle of Guernsey and Isle of Jersey, although she is distinguishable from her sisters by her Maierform bow. Postcard of Isle of Sark
Postcard of Isle of Sark Postcard of Isle of Sark Postcard of Isle of Sark Postcard of Isle of Sark Postcard of Isle of Sark Brittany (Southern Railway: 1933-1947) (British Railways: 1948-1963)
Brittany was specially built to operate year round services from the Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) to various French ports (St Malo, Granville, Cherbourg etc). Her small size and shallow draft allow her to enter the extremely tidal port of St Malo at almost any time. She rarely returned to her home port of Southampton in summer, but would regularly meet the Southern Railway cross-channel steamer Dinard at St Malo. Brittany would later rejoin Dinard as part of Viking Line. At 1522 tons, Brittany was much smaller than other passenger ships in the Southern Railways fleet, and her turbines gave her a speed of only 16 knots. I have read that she was not much liked within the Southern Railways fleet, but this may be down to the fact that she was rather overshadowed compared to the larger and faster cross-channel ships.

At the start of World War 2, Brittany helped with the evacuations from France. She was then taken over by the Royal Navy, and encircled the continent of Africa over 30 months between 1942-44, including a spell in Bombay, a remarkable feat for a ship designed for such short services. She returned to her old Southern Railway services in 1947, followed by transfer to British Railways in 1948. The winter services involved a single round trip each week from France to Jersey and Guernsey, after which she would return to Southampton. Although not advertised, these services often carried passengers. She was replaced by the Winchester (freighter carrying 12 passengers) during her winter overhauls.

Brittany was withdrawn by British Railways at the end of 1962, and was sold the following year to Gunnar Eklund, who had formed Ålandsfärjan after disagreements with his Viking Line partners. She operated as the Ålandsfärjan between Mariehamn and Gräddö (later Kapellskär), having been converted to carry cars. Ålandsfärjan later became SF Line, and rejoined the Viking Line consortium in 1967. Ålandsfärjan was finally withdrawn in 1972, following replacement by more modern tonnage. The name Ålandsfärjan was re-used in 1987, when another English Channel ship was acquired by Viking Line. Complete history of Brittany Skyfotos (serial 9236) postcard of Brittany. Unidentified postcard of Brittany. Unidentified postcard of Brittany. BB (London - serial 40) postcard of Brittany. RA Postcards (London - serial 6780J) postcard of Brittany at Jersey. An delightful M.Guerin (St Malo) postcard of Brittany in the locks at St Malo. An Editions Flor postcard of Brittany at St Malo. Postcard of Brittany. Postcard of Brittany. Real Photographs photographic postcard serial 837 of Brittany. An A.Duncan photographic postcard of Brittany. Falaise (Southern Railway: 1947) (British Railways: 1948-1974) 3710 gross tons - 310.5 feet long - 1450 passengers (later 500)
Falaise was delivered to the Southern Railway in June 1947, passing to British Railways (BR) six months later on 1st January 1948. She re-opened the Southampton St Malo route after a gap of ten years. In 1964 Falaise was converted to a car ferry on the Tyne, along with the Normannia. She returned to initiate car ferry services on the Newhaven-Dieppe route, and remained in this route, apart from short relief spells at Dover, until the 8th September 1972. After berthing trials in April, Falaise moved to Weymouth for services to the Channel Islands and Cherbourg in June 1973. Her career was cut short in August 1974, when she suffered machinery problems. Falaise was laid up at Holyhead then sold for scrap in Bilbao. British Railways postcard of Falaise as a passenger ferry on Southampton services. British Railways postcard of Falaise as a passenger ferry on Southampton services. British Railways postcard of Falaise as a passenger ferry on Southampton services. Variation on the card above. Postcard of Falaise as a passenger ferry. Postcard of Falaise as a passenger ferry. British Railways postcard of Falaise as a car ferry at Newhaven after 1964. Publisher: J.Arthur Dixon British Rail postcard of Falaise as a car ferry at Newhaven after 1964. The white area of the hull was increased soon after rebuilding - compare with cards above. Publisher: J.Arthur Dixon Photographic postcard of Falaise as a car ferry at Newhaven Sealink postcard of Falaise as a car ferry at Newhaven. Publisher: J.Arthur Dixon Ferry Postcards - Cruise Ship Postcards - Ocean Liner Postcards
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Name	Other names	Built
Brittany	Ålandsfärjan	1933
Dinard	Viking	1924