The Glorious Years of the Southern RailwayThe Glorious Years of the Southern Railway 27. 50 The Southern Railway was the smallest of the Big Four companies created by the Railways Act 1921. Yet, this was not a hindrance, rather a benefit which helped the SR become one of the more innovative of the group. The Glorious Years of the Southern Railway looks at the company over the period 1923 1945 using nearly 230 high quality black and white photographs. These are collected into several sections: