It could almost be a pre-war scene.


Peter Swift adds all the details "I believe the location might be about 1.2 miles NW of Romsey Station. It is the only point I can find three bridges in close proximity and in that respect they look right.

The loco is of course a Maunsell S15 class featuring No. 830 built at Eastleigh in August 1927. In the photograph the loco is carrying Bulleid unlined black livery with ‘sunshine’ lettering which it received at the end of 1943, not receiving its BR number until March 1950. The photograph shows that the snifting valves on the smokebox have been removed, this happened when it entered works for an overhaul in 1947, at which time it had a boiler swap, returning to traffic in December 1947.
Thus the condition confirms the date as being during the summer of 1948 or 1949. At this period the locomotive was allocated to Salisbury and it is working that sheds duty No. 453 for which I don’t have details. The headcode is for a Salisbury to Portsmouth, via Eastleigh, working, and the train is running downhill at this point on a 1:695 gradient which falls all the way from Dunbridge Station to a point where the line crosses the River Test a further 750 yards beyond the photographic location.

As for the coaches – the trailing coaches are two 3-car sets of ex-LSWR non-corridor stock. These sets when first introduced were 4-coach formations but with the downturn in passenger numbers following the 1930s depression were reduced to 3 coach sets in 1935/36 with the removal of the two 48’ or 50’ composites, these being replaced by a rebuilt vehicle formed by these bodies being cut & shut and extended and placed on standard 58’ underframes. Following which these sets continued on local and cross-country workings on the Southern’s Western Section, particularly on local workings throughout the Hampshire area until here being eventually replaced by the introduction of the Hampshire DEMUs in 1957. The leading set comprising of two D.126 Brake Thirds (the last LSWR non-corridor diagram built in 1912, differing from similar diagrams by only having a single sliding door to the luggage compartment as opposed to two each side) sandwiching a D.285 Composite.
By this date there were eight sets of these diagram coaches in service. One was withdrawn in 1950, another in 1953 with others remaining in traffic until 1956/57. The rear set cannot be seen clearly to define which diagrammed coaches but could well be the same as the leading set.
As to the leading two vehicles they are of LMS origin, the leading being a LNWR 50ft arc roof full brake, we cannot see how they can be a through working; not a normal one anyhow, possibly a special working having been tripped down the S&DJR to Templecombe and now being worked forward to Portsmouth, but more likely they are just in common user parcels traffic, the only sign of a Nationalised railway."