Distant view of loco passing through town?

[lazonbytunnel]

This has stumped a couple of postcard groups so I wonder if anyone can recognise the location from the rather tenuous railway angle. A distant view of a town taken from high ground with what looks like a loco passing from right to left along an embankment. There is a gabled structure fronting onto the supposed railway centre right which could be a station, although it would be a very one-sided station.

 

[John Webb]

Possibly a freight branch and this was a goods depot of some sort with the roof extended over the platform to allow the loading/unloading of goods under shelter from wet weather?
Many of the houses have quite steeply-pitched roofs - suggesting perhaps north of England or Scotland?

 

[Gloster]

I would think that the large building is slightly more likely to be a factory or similar as a railway goods depot would need a fair amount of space for goods vehicles to come and go.

Possibly the edge of town as many of the houses are medium sized and detached or semi-detached.

 

[Rescars]

The absence of road traffic and the relative newness of the buildings and gardens suggests that the photo was taken c1900 - 1910. As well as the building near the line on the right of the picture, the large building in the distance beyond and to the left of the loco looks quite distinctive. The loco seems to be putting in a bit of effort, judging by the amount of exhaust. Could it be working upgrade? Probably not that steep, as the surrounding terrain looks relatively flat. It is difficult to see how many wagons there are in the train, so tricky to get a feel for the load. It is also difficult to make out much of the loco, but it appears to be a tank engine working bunker first. It looks like it has side tanks rather than a saddle or panniers and also has a relatively modest sized dome. On that basis the location is presumably outwith the reach of Swindon.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The appearance housing stock feels north of England to me.

I'd agree it's circa 1900.

There are hills in the background, and it's taken from up a hill. The viaduct is going to be a good clue, as is the distinctive corner shop - although that's highly unlikely to still be there.

The general aspect does look very similar to a 1955 photograph of Slaithwaite on the Frances Frith website... links below... NB I am NOT saying is is Slaithwaite, but it's certainly a similar aspect and probably worth investigating; how many of the buildings in that 1955 photograph weren't there half a century earlier...?

View old photos of Slaithwaite

Take a step back in time revisiting 16 nostalgic photos of Slaithwaite

www.francisfrith.com

Slaithwaite, from Yew Tree c1955

Photo of Slaithwaite, from Yew Tree c1955, from The Francis Frith Collection

www.francisfrith.com

 

[Deepgreen]

The station canopy looks Midland Railway in style to me, so perhaps Derbyshire? The original Slaithwaite station had four platforms but this one looks to have one through platform and a bay road.

 

[eastwestdivide]

The station canopy looks Midland Railway in style to me

I'm not convinced it's a canopy, or even a station (if you mean the 4 clear-ish gable ends that is)

 

[Deepgreen]

I'm not convinced it's a canopy, or even a station (if you mean the 4 clear-ish gable ends that is)

You might be right, but there looks to be a long platform running from just to the right of the four-roofed structure to well to the left of the cluster of trees by the house in front of the arches, with a ramp at both ends. Of course that could all be part of the low viaduct's parapet but the ramps seem too much like those of a platform.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Jan 2025 ==

The absence of road traffic and the relative newness of the buildings and gardens suggests that the photo was taken c1900 - 1910. As well as the building near the line on the right of the picture, the large building in the distance beyond and to the left of the loco looks quite distinctive. The loco seems to be putting in a bit of effort, judging by the amount of exhaust. Could it be working upgrade? Probably not that steep, as the surrounding terrain looks relatively flat. It is difficult to see how many wagons there are in the train, so tricky to get a feel for the load. It is also difficult to make out much of the loco, but it appears to be a tank engine working bunker first. It looks like it has side tanks rather than a saddle or panniers and also has a relatively modest sized dome. On that basis the location is presumably outwith the reach of Swindon.

I don't think the loco is necessarily working hard - a few puffs of exhuast while shunting would produce that much. My gut feeling is that it is in a yard or bay road with a station configuration a little like Chesham (but certainly not there!). The villas in the foreground are substantial so that suggests a village near to a town or city and the stone buildings do have a slightly Scottish look.

 

[Bevan Price]

No idea of location, but the train is on a viaduct, not an embnkment.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Hard to see how long/how many arches the viaduct is.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Hard to see how long/how many arches the viaduct is.

The best I can count is 12 give or take a bit... but one interesting feature is it seems to have an enormously thick pillar after every 3rd arch...




I still think finding this distinctive corner shop is going to be a big help - even if it no longer exists, there must be a few pictures of it somewhere?

 

[Rescars]

The best I can count is 12 give or take a bit... but one interesting feature is it seems to have an enormously thick pillar after every 3rd arch...

View attachment 173511


I still think finding this distinctive corner shop is going to be a big help - even if it no longer exists, there must be a few pictures of it somewhere?

View attachment 173512

I wonder if the thick pillars in the viaduct are designed to enable a skew arch to be formed to enable the railway to cross something else at an angle - a canal perhaps.

The corner shop (or whatever it is) is distinctive, especially as it part of a three storey property. The buildings nearest the camera all look to be quite substantial villas. Those further away look to more like workers cottages. This has the feel of a midlands or northern location to me - the properties seem a bit tall for Scotland and there is a notable absence of dormer windows. It's very difficult to be certain, but I think the properties look to be built of brick rather than stone. If that is correct, then the location is unlikely to be close to major quarries.

 

[edwin_m]

The best I can count is 12 give or take a bit... but one interesting feature is it seems to have an enormously thick pillar after every 3rd arch...

One possible reason is to allow the viaduct to be built in stages. With a normal sized pier the arches either side have to be built together, or the uneven forces will topple the pier over. Having a wide pier means that it and the arches on one side can be built before moving on to the arches on the other side, so construction goes on for longer but needs fewer people. Nevertheless it's fairly unusual I think, and perhaps suggests this was a less lucrative route where economy was more important than speed in construction.

 

[Deepgreen]

The best I can count is 12 give or take a bit... but one interesting feature is it seems to have an enormously thick pillar after every 3rd arch...

View attachment 173511


I still think finding this distinctive corner shop is going to be a big help - even if it no longer exists, there must be a few pictures of it somewhere?

View attachment 173512

Is it a shop or a conservatory/similar on the house? It doesn't seem to have any signage or direct access from the road.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Jan 2025 ==

No idea of location, but the train is on a viaduct, not an embnkment.

I don't think anyone has claimed it to be an embankment.

 

[weepingwillowb]

Is this any clearer?

 

[Deepgreen]

Is this any clearer?

View attachment 173531

A little, in some respects. Could you continue until the nameboards are legible?

 

[weepingwillowb]

A little, in some respects. Could you continue until the nameboards are legible?

Okay. I've started a crowdfunding appeal so I can get the technology to do that.

 

[Sun Chariot]

I don't think anyone has claimed it to be an embankment.

I expect it was in response to the OP's post "...with what looks like a loco passing from right to left along an embankment".
There is admittedly, a short embankment to either side of the 12-ish arched viaduct.

 

[Deepgreen]

I expect it was in response to the OP's post "...with what looks like a loco passing from right to left along an embankment".
There is admittedly, a short embankment to either side of the 12-ish arched viaduct.

Ah, I see - thanks.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Jan 2025 ==

Okay. I've started a crowdfunding appeal so I can get the technology to do that.

This one could run and run...

 

[edwin_m]

I'm having second thoughts about Northern England - can't help thinking there would be mills and big chimneys and rows of terraces in this sort of view.

I wonder also if the building with the ridge and furrow roof is some kind of goods depot, served by tracks at a lower level that run inside it, as there seems to be an opening in the side wall in front of a lean-to.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Is it a shop or a conservatory/similar on the house? It doesn't seem to have any signage or direct access from the road.

Can't be sure, but the window to the right of it seems to have a name sign above it, which does suggest a shop or two shops?

120 years ago, they wouldn't really have signs pointing to shops - the local population would just know where they all were; the gateway in the wall could well have been all the access that was needed at that time. ( Guessing about the gateway ).

I'm having second thoughts about Northern England - can't help thinking there would be mills and big chimneys and rows of terraces in this sort of view.

Not necessarily... randomly Googling old photographs of a few towns in the area outside the main conurbations shows very little evidence of such.

I wonder also if the building with the ridge and furrow roof is some kind of goods depot, served by tracks at a lower level that run inside it, as there seems to be an opening in the side wall in front of a lean-to.

It could also be a market. During that random Googling I just mentioned, I note that - although the roofline is different - Todmorden Market is remarkably similar in size and shape to the one in the mystery picture; it even has four roofs. Few such markets survive these days, but would probably have been quite common 120 or so years ago - so researching old market halls might throw up a match?

 

[stuu]

Anywhere by the sea that fits? Those buildings on the right have a vaguely seaside look to them, with the building suggested as a shop being a hotel perhaps.

 

[Mat17]

It does have a West Yorkshire feeling about it. Halifax/Huddersfield kind of vibes. Only the mills are missing.

 

[Lloyds siding]

Probably a Pennine town, but a lack of tall chimneys (and church spires, towers) in this view...but visiblity limited by the smoke on a winter's day (don't you miss that!). Disused stations website shows a station with similar roof and canopy at Radcliffe Link to Disused Stations site for Radcliffe (But I doubt that it is Radcliffe in the photos here, but some similarities.)
I suspect that the large building on the corner could well be a hotel too, seems to be conservatory structures front and back.

 

[30907]

Probably a Pennine town, but a lack of tall chimneys (and church spires, towers) in this view...but visiblity limited by the smoke on a winter's day (don't you miss that!). Disused stations website shows a station with similar roof and canopy at Radcliffe Link to Disused Stations site for Radcliffe (But I doubt that it is Radcliffe in the photos here, but some similarities.)

If the gabled roof at right angles to the tracks is a station, it looks like typical MR canopies extending over a wide concourse and/or several platforms, a mixture of through and terminal. I can't think that there would be more than 3 through platforms in this case. Does any MR station fit this description?

Edit: the sort of station layout that came to mind was Ayr - and that actually has that type of gabled roof, which I hadn't realised. It clearly isn't Ayr, but could it be elsewhere in Scotland rather than Midland?

 

[Ayrshire Roy]

If the gabled roof at right angles to the tracks is a station, it looks like typical MR canopies extending over a wide concourse and/or several platforms, a mixture of through and terminal. I can't think that there would be more than 3 through platforms in this case. Does any MR station fit this description?

Edit: the sort of station layout that came to mind was Ayr - and that actually has that type of gabled roof, which I hadn't realised. It clearly isn't Ayr, but could it be elsewhere in Scotland rather than Midland?

My initial thought was Kilmarnock with the station roof and the viaduct.
Also the park at the other end of the viaduct matches.
Unfortunately the building's don't match or the view.

 

[Greetlander]

Is that a canal pound in the bottom right? The houses aren’t giving Yorkshire vibes.

 

[30907]

Is that a canal pound in the bottom right?

What would the horizontal lines (white/dark) at the nearer end be? I did wonder if it was a reservoir with outfall.

 

[Spartacus]

I might be suffering lack of sleep and a cough but I'm sure I've seen this somewhere before and I think the place was up in Scotland. Think it was the large buildings on the far left, and centre right (possibly a Methodist Church) gave it away.

 

[Edgeley]

Buxton?