Stationmaster on his motorcycle

[lazonbytunnel]

Any suggestions as to where he might be?

 

[Railsigns]

The footbridge, and the signal behind it, suggest somewhere in Scotland.

 

[Gloster]

I think it says LMS on the cap.

It has the feeling of coastal: on the Clyde?

 

[Iskra]

My first thought was Girvan, but that is a lot of gut feeling I suspect

 

[Lloyds siding]

There is a totem visible....which appears to start with Call...leading me to think that it's Callandar station. The houses in the background look right, and the Wikipedia article lists the stationmasters too.
Link to Wikipedia article for Callander railway station

 

[Gloster]

There is a totem visible....which appears to start with Call...leading me to think that it's Callandar station. The houses in the background look right, and the Wikipedia article lists the stationmasters too.
Link to Wikipedia article for Callander railway station

I think that the footbridge is wrong and Callender was on a gentle curve.

As a very tentative suggestion: Kilpatrick looking west. The problem is that the only photo I can find has a hut on the opposite platform...and I am not sure if the hill is built up enough.

 

[Iskra]

I think that the footbridge is wrong and Callender was on a gentle curve.

As a very tentative suggestion: Kilpatrick looking west. The problem is that the only photo I can find has a hut on the opposite platform...and I am not sure if the hill is built up enough.

I concur that it isn't Callender, the footbridge at Callander was also the wrong shape in 1925 at least...

 

[Nelson84]

I concur that it isn't Callender, the footbridge at Callander was also the wrong shape in 1925 at least...

Nairn? A bicycle was the usual mean of travel between the signal boxes.

 

[Gloster]

I think that they only had pushbikes at Nairn. The motorbike would be used by the Stationmaster to go around and see customers, which does suggest a station with a goods yard and a hinterland.

 

[Railsigns]

The platforms at Kilpatrick and Nairn stations are not curved, whereas those in the picture appear to curve to the right.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Nairn? A bicycle was the usual mean of travel between the signal boxes.

Likewise many other Highland Railway stations - but Nairn lasted longer than most.

 

[Railsigns]

It won't be an ex-Highland Railway station, because the drop-flap type of shunting signal bracketed out from the main signal post wasn't used by the Highland (but was by the other four pre-grouping companies in Scotland).

 

[Rescars]

Wish I had software which could enhance the nameboard(?) on the opposite platform and the sign on the right in front of the footbridge. Does the "gappy" style of the roof awning at the end of the canopy offer any clues? Difficult to make much of the lower quadrant signal obscured by the footbridge. I wonder when the photo was taken. The bike looks very new and shiny, but the headlamp looks quite old fashioned. When was acetylene lighting superseded by electric?

 

[Railsigns]

I think the first line of the sign on the right says "GENERAL".

 

[MadMac]

My first thought was Girvan, but that is a lot of gut feeling I suspect

Did Girvan ever have a footbridge?

 

[Rescars]

I think the first line of the sign on the right says "GENERAL".

"WAITING ROOM" perhaps?

 

[Railsigns]

"WAITING ROOM" perhaps?

Could be!

 

[ThirteenArches]

The possible nameboard appears to be C(R?)****Y

 

[Railsigns]

The possible nameboard appears to be C(R?)****Y

It doesn't strike me as a typical station nameboard from the grouping era (in terms of its construction, colours, and what looks like lower case lettering). The visible word could be "Railway".

 

[ian1944]

Can't suggest a particular station, but a GNSR one along the Moray coast?

 

[Railsigns]

The footbridge design isn't typical of GNoSR stations.

 

[MadMac]

It doesn't strike me as a typical station nameboard from the grouping era (in terms of its construction, colours, and what looks like lower case lettering). The visible word could be "Railway".

So I’m not the only one who thought it was lower case! It almost looks like BR Corporate Identity Alphabet.

I agree that the sign is “General Waiting Room“. Is that a parcel scale embedded into the platform with wooden crates (possibly fish?).

 

[Magdalia]

I don't know the answer here, but I see clues that have not been mentioned yet.

In the background the trees look to be in leaf, and there are bedding plants in flower on the left edge.

But the shadows are quite long, best indicated by the shadow of the front wheel of the motorcycle.

Taken together, these suggest a summer picture, but in early morning or late evening.

If morning, then east is to the left of picture and we are looking south/south west.

If evening, then west is to the left of picture and we are looking north/north east.

Either way, the platforms look to be aligned more north/south than east/west.

 

[Bevan Price]

Looking at the station nameplate using a magnifying glass, could I suggest possibly Port Glasgow ??

 

[Gloster]

Port Glasgow was one I thought of, but there aren’t many old photos of it. However, the bridge was covered in and there was a signal box by it.

 

[Railsigns]

There are some striking similarities with Uphall station, as seen at the link below.

https://www.scottishshale.co.uk/images/browse/?tags=uphall_station#&gid=1&pid=4

Compare the station building, footbridge and palisade fence (this view would be looking the other way).

While I'm not completely satisfied that it is Uphall, I think we must be getting close.

Uphall was an LNER/North British Railway station on the Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Yes, the footbridge in the OP's picture does look like the standard NBR design, as seen here at Uphall. I'm not convinced the SM's cap says 'L.M.S.' - they had a much more 'florid' design. If it is Uphall the SM would have welcomed the motor bike - Uphall was / is a bit of a step from the station!

 

[Gloster]

A problem with Uphall is that, because of the location of the footbridge, the photo would have been taken facing east. Just beyond the station was a large industrial site which could, at a pinch, be what is in the background, but there was no wooded area.

 

[Railsigns]

A problem with Uphall is that, because of the location of the footbridge, the photo would have been taken facing east. Just beyond the station was a large industrial site which could, at a pinch, be what is in the background, but there was no wooded area.

Yeah, I don't think it's Uphall. The footbridge isn't an exact match. It's possibly a different station on the same line.

 

[Rescars]

I'm afraid the platform awning doesn't look quite right and I can't see any sign of the weighing machine.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Dec 2024 ==

Yes, the footbridge in the OP's picture does look like the standard NBR design, as seen here at Uphall. I'm not convinced the SM's cap says 'L.M.S.' - they had a much more 'florid' design. If it is Uphall the SM would have welcomed the motor bike - Uphall was / is a bit of a step from the station!

Silly question perhaps, but do we know for certain that the motorcycle rider is the station master?