Southern locomotives - early BR days - help with location/date

[oldman]

These three pictures of Southern Railway locomotives show 30772 (BR number) with British Railways on the tender, and 423 and 791 (Southern numbers) with Southern on the tenders.

The pictures were printed in the same batch, so probably taken at the same time. The photographer had in-laws in Bournemouth so that is a likely location. There was a building firm called Kennedy's near Central station which would fit the 791 picture. The other two look to be in a leafy suburb, but I don't know the area.

He was not in GB from late 1948 to mid-1950. My guess is that by 1950 locomotives would have been renumbered and relettered and the BR emblem applied. Therefore I suppose they date from 1948; I would be grateful if anyone could confirm or contradict that.

 

[Gloster]

I think that the bottom one is looking north from the east end of Bournemouth Central, but I can’t find any photos to confirm that that is the old sorting office in the background. I am wondering if the other two are taken from the Down platform looking north between the end of the Up platform and the shed.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

I think that the bottom one is looking north from the east end of Bournemouth Central

I would concur, although sometime later (certainly by 1962 - Middleton Press 'Southampton to Bournemouth plate 116) the signal arms had been replaced by upper quadrants.

The upper two images are also at Bournemouth Central (I believe) taken from the Down platform at about the point where platform 3 becomes platform 4, and are looking across to the loco yard.

 

[John Webb]

I would concur, although sometime later (certainly by 1962 - Middleton Press 'Southampton to Bournemouth plate 116) the signal arms had been replaced by upper quadrants......

A view from 1966 looking in the opposite direction:
Departing for London, Bournemouth Central – 1966

© Copyright Alan Murray-Rust and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

I'd agree too that the other two shots are at the other end of the station from several visits made in the early sixties when on holiday in the area - can't lay hands yet on the photos I took on those occasions to compare.

 

[WesternLancer]

These three pictures of Southern Railway locomotives show 30772 (BR number) with British Railways on the tender, and 423 and 791 (Southern numbers) with Southern on the tenders.

The pictures were printed in the same batch, so probably taken at the same time. The photographer had in-laws in Bournemouth so that is a likely location. There was a building firm called Kennedy's near Central station which would fit the 791 picture. The other two look to be in a leafy suburb, but I don't know the area.

He was not in GB from late 1948 to mid-1950. My guess is that by 1950 locomotives would have been renumbered and relettered and the BR emblem applied. Therefore I suppose they date from 1948; I would be grateful if anyone could confirm or contradict that.

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I can’t help on locations but just to say nice to see such high quality sharp pictures.

 

[bishdunster]

Definitely Bournemouth Central, I used to work there! And i can confirm the large building was indeed the P.O. sorting office ( with the BRSA club to the left of it !), and it was Kenedys builders merchants behind it with the yellow sign.

 

[oldman]

Thank you everyone for your help.

I can’t help on locations but just to say nice to see such high quality sharp pictures.

My father would have appreciated that. These would have been on 120 film, he never adopted 35mm. He was quite a well-known name in railway photography in the inter-war years, though he did very little subsequently, and was proud of his work.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you everyone for your help.


My father would have appreciated that. These would have been on 120 film, he never adopted 35mm. He was quite a well-known name in railway photography in the inter-war years, though he did very little subsequently, and was proud of his work.

Thanks - interesting to read - it's always interesting to me to see these old pics that are in people's personal collections - but the superior quality of these did jump out at me even when i was looking at them on my phone! I have since enjoyed them properly on a larger screen.

He was indeed right to be proud of his photography!

Do you still have his original negatives from the 120 film?

 

[Taunton]

30772 Sir Percivale, and (30)791 Sir Uwaine are N15 King Arthurs, from the batch built by North British and thus sometimes not regarded quite as well as a 'proper' Eastleigh one.

423 is an L12 Bulldog 4-4-0, in its last couple of years. Classmate 421 had been the loco involved in the notorious Salisbury boat train overturning accident way back in 1906. With that boiler pitched high on the smokebox saddle, presumably to clear the big ends on the large diameter drivers, it does look somewhat top-heavy.

In 1950 791 was a Nine Elms loco and the other two from Eastleigh shed.

 

[oldman]

Do you still have his original negatives from the 120 film?

Unfortunately not - all I have is a few prints for the post-war period. The pre-war pictures are at the NRM.

 

[WesternLancer]

Unfortunately not - all I have is a few prints for the post-war period. The pre-war pictures are at the NRM.

That’s a shame. Do you think the negatives got destroyed or actively sold for example?

I suppose it’s good that they can be curated at the NRM. I’m a member of the friends of the NRM and their journal features high quality photos from their collections usually so perhaps I’ve seen some of your father’s work in that.

 

[oldman]

That’s a shame. Do you think the negatives got destroyed or actively sold for example?

If he left any negatives they were discarded. I found a few prints and nowadays I can look for an online archival home for them, but forty years ago what could you do with a few dozen random pictures, and perhaps some negatives?

The prewar collection was his pride and joy. Many appeared in print from the fifties onwards and he spent a lot of time in correspondence with authors and publishers. That was what mattered to him.

 

[WesternLancer]

If he left any negatives they were discarded. I found a few prints and nowadays I can look for an online archival home for them, but forty years ago what could you do with a few dozen random pictures, and perhaps some negatives?

The prewar collection was his pride and joy. Many appeared in print from the fifties onwards and he spent a lot of time in correspondence with authors and publishers. That was what mattered to him.

Thanks for sharing this - really appreciate these insights.