Catalogue description South Eastern and Chatham Railway companies Managing Committee: Records

The SEC was formed to manage the undertakings of the South Eastern Railway Company (SER) and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company (LCD) as one undertaking. The arrangement being authorised by the South Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover railway companies Act 1899. The committee was formed by four representatives of each company, the Chairman being the Chairman of the SER. The SER and LCD remained as separate holding companies.

The South Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover railway companies Act 1903 authorised the SEC to work its lines by electric power and several other acts were passed to extend the time for the completion of the necessary works.

The SER served Kent (almost monopolising the county) from its London termini of Victoria, Charing Cross, Holborn Viaduct, Cannon Street and London Bridge with lines into other counties reaching as far as Guildford in Surrey and Hastings in Sussex.

By its demise, the SEC controlled 625 miles of line with about another ten miles either owned jointly with or leased from other companies.

The SEC, with its constituent companies, were grouped with other companies such as the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the London and South Western Railway, by the virtue of the Railways (Southern Group) Amalgamation Scheme 1922 to form the Southern Railway Company on 1 Jan 1923.