Scope and Contents:
The South Eastern Railway, founded in the 1840s, served a populous suburban district south of London. In 1895, George Augustus Nokes (pseud. G. A. Sekon), who later became editor of The Railway Magazine, wrote the History of the South-Eastern Railway. This 40-page booklet discusses the railway's route, fares, accidents, and, for example, "the sensational bullion robbery [of 1855]...the most daring and ingenious theft ever perpetrated in the annals of railway history."
This collection includes two copies of Sekon's booklet, each annotated by T. H. Lee. The collection also includes Lee's notes and a list of his "Objections to certain Statements" in the booklet which he sent to Sekon on July 11, 1895. In addition, the collection includes letters from Sir Myles Fenton, the railway's general manager, to Sekon on Feb. 8 and July 15, 1895, the second of which advises Sekon not to reply to Lee.
The Library acquired the collection in 1939.