• The group is formed for discussion by e-mail over the internet between Railway Enthusiasts, Historians and Modellers interested in the Southern Railway of the United Kingdom (including those railway companies that were merged together to form it and those that succeeded it).
• We are each at different stages of the hobby. Questions and discussion from those less experienced in matters "Southern" are welcomed as much as those from those more knowledgeable. We hope the more experienced among us will give a little of their time to pass on some experience to those new to railways or modelling. Whether your particular interest is SR; LSWR; LB&SCR, SECR or perhaps S&DJR - or later users of their rails - we'll be glad to read your remarks and send replies to your questions whenever we can.
• To elaborate on the above, the Southern Railway E-mail Group is not an elitist group of super scratch building modellers or historians. On the modelling front our members range from scratchbuilders through kit builders and kitbashers to those who only own ready to run items, and in scales ranging from large live steam through to 2mm. We welcome newcomers and members who feel no impulse to do or make anything. We ask simply that a member has an 'interest' in the Southern Railway, (plus its predecessors and successors) and if someone new to the hobby wants help building something or needs some information then there's usually someone in the group willing to assist.
• The group operates its mailing list (SREmG) via the Groups IO server which receives e-mail addressed to the group and then despatches it to all group members on its membership list. You do not need to maintain your own address list, merely to know the address of the group's mail server - which will be given to you if you decide to join the group. If you are already registered with Groups IO note that we are a "closed" group so you will be assisted with adding the SREmG to your subscription list.
• Although by the nature of our subject the majority of members reside in the UK we have a significant number of members from all over the world and our mailings are truly a 24 hour operation.
• At first you will be receiving messages on topics already in progress, so during the early days of receiving messages they may not make much sense. If you ask a question of the group or start a topic there is no guarantee it will get a response or take off. However experience has shown that an identical question/topic posed later may get a completely different and productive response. It all depends upon who is active on the list at the time and how much time they have to provide a detailed response.
• At certain times correspondence can be at a high level so collecting your e-mail after a few days break can lead to extended download times. Even with the best will in the world not all messages at any given moment will be of interest to any one individual! Established SREmG members handle this by speed reading each message received and then deleting those not of interest, preferring to spend more time over reading the messages of interest they have retained.
• Membership of the SREmG is free of charge though periodically voluntary donations into a trust fund may be solicited to ensure the group has funds to cover its very low but necessary operating costs. Donations into this trust fund should be made on the understanding that they do not buy any privileges.
• The SREmG is a group of volunteers working in their - often scarce - part time and not a business. All members aim to respond promptly but tolerance is asked when personal and business concerns result in delay.

1. Please remember the subject scope of SREmG (on topic), which is the Southern Railway (and its predecessors and successors).
2. Please be polite and avoid personal attacks. Attack the idea not the person. Depending on the severity of the attack, the moderators will apply a double yellow, yellow or red signal. If more than one member gets involved (often known as a flame war), normally both or all will be given a yellow signal (moderation for one month), to avoid making any judgement on who started the flame war (as it usually takes 2 or more to start an argument). So if you are attacked, appeal to the Listmaster(s), rather than attack back.
3. Take care with negative remarks about books and models. Authors, editors and model manufacturers (and their consultants) are members of SREmG. Try to be constructive in your reviews of books and models. Don't hide behind quoted speech unless you can provide a solid reference to a magazine or website. If you do say something negative, make sure it is completely factual and you can backup what you say if challenged in court. Unjustified negative remarks or negative remarks based on hearsay may receive a penalty, usually a yellow signal (moderation for one month).
4. If you want to change the subject, please post a new topic (on the website), or send a new e-mail to main@SREmG.groups.io. If you think this post is logically related to the current subject and you really want to continue the discussion, edit the subject line with "new subject (was old subject)". You may be penalized for starting a new topic using an old e-mail, just send a new e-mail to main@SREmG.groups.io with the new subject line. At first the penalty will be a double yellow signal, but if you repeat the offence within one month (and the moderator notices), it will get changed to a yellow signal (moderation for one month).
5. Trim your posts. Don't include text from previous posts unless really necessary. Delete as much as possible of the older e-mails and just leave enough to explain your reply (this is trimming). This is especially important when the topic diverges and several different topics are being discussed under the same subject line, or when attempting humour or irony as these remarks can seem too cryptic to understand without a reference to the original remarks. On the website, look for the Lasso or Bubble Icon ("Quote Post") at the beginning of the Format Toolbar, which allows you to include the previous message and then edit (trim) as much as possible.
6. Modelling subjects are allowed, but they must be directly related to SR prototypes. General modelling subjects (like Baseboards, Soldering, DCC) must be avoided as we do have many non-modellers on the group that are not interested in these subjects, and there are hundreds of groups and forums that cover these subjects. You may be penalized for starting, or digressing into, a general modelling subject. At first the penalty will be a double yellow signal, but if you repeat the offence within one month (and the Listmaster(s) notices), it will get changed to a yellow signal (moderation for one month).
7. Here is a prefix you can use to classify certain subjects, which are not in the main stream of SREmG. OT: for off topic subjects, There could be more added later.
8. Try to avoid OT subjects. Some small discussion may be allowed but the Listmaster may close you down. Avoid posting on hot subjects in the media (e.g. HS2 or accidents) which are not in the area defined by the Southern Railway. You may be penalized for starting an OT subject. At first the penalty will be a double yellow signal, but if you repeat the offence within one month (and the Listmaster(s) notices), it will get changed to a yellow (moderation for one month).
9. Please sign e-mails with a first name and town of residence (if outside the UK, it is customary to add the country as well). This is just to be able to identify you in the group, like "live, Huddersfield" or "John, Probstdorf, Austria".
10. Rude messages and messages which start a discussion on nationality, race, religion, gender or politics (not related to railways) will receive a yellow signal or red signal. The normal penalty will be that all your postings will be moderated for the next month (Yellow Signal). Repeated violations (i.e. more than two Yellow Signals) will result in a Red Signal, which means you will be banned from the list. Three strikes and you are out!
11. In June 2014, the long standing system of penalties from Yellow Card (moderation for one month) and Red Card (banning) was changed to a more gradual system of Double Yellow Signal (Warning, be careful for the next month), Yellow Signal (Moderation for one month) and Red Signal (Banning). Moderation may introduce a delay of one or two days to your postings and some may be rejected if they are rude or off-topic. The original system was based on soccer game penalties, now we have a more relevant system based on colour light signals.

If you experience any difficulty with this website please contact the SREmG

If you are new to e-mail and/or have difficulty sending your messages to the group please contact the group's Mailing List Manager who will do his best to assist you.

The SREmG Founder and Honorary President is David Lawrence.

The SREmG Treasurer is

SREmG Officers without Portfolio are    and .