Preservation Era Then & Now.....

So here goes folk, as I remarked in the West Somerset Railway Operations Thread. As my offerings we have a couple of photos taken at Pickering:-

 

not much point if you don't say if they are now or then....

 

Maybe it’s a quiz? Too easy in this case.


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OK then, being pedantic as you cannot tell. The first photo, shows the somewhat dilapidated awnings that were fitted in 1950+/-. The second shows the re-installed overall roof. As Pickering Station is a listed building, the Moors had to have consent to re-install the original style roof, as the listed building protection covered the awnings...... If you know where to look you can still see the "shadow" of the framework for the awnings on the walls.

 

What's pedantic about it? If you don't know the station and the history, you couldn't tell which was which. I've been there once and I thought the trainshed was original and a bit dark and dingy

 

OK then as you dislike the overall roof, we could as the then Pickering Town Council wanted to do back in the seventies demolish the station and put a Supermarket and associated car park on the site. Most folk are quite impressed with the "restoration" of an original feature. Which in turn makes the station stand out when you come round the corner out of the Market Place in the Town Centre. This is my final world on this offering and I therefore throw down the gauntlet to others to produce similar photos of other Preserved lines up and down the land, as per the title of this thread.

 

i didn't say I disliked it, I'm just surprised to find it's not original. Many railway stations back in the day were dark and dingy.,

 

Strange tone in this thread. Then and now is a really good idea, but you can't expect those of us unfamiliar with the location to know which is which.

 

my point exactly, if I'd have been asked I'd have said the one with the modern canopies is now .... and the other then, which if you think about it is a compliment to the restorers.

 

I've never visited Pickering station, but anyone who is interested in railway preservation would IMHO be able to work out which is which. But then this is NP, i guess

 

How?

 

Ok, lets not get sidetracked - How about Towyn / Tywyn 1969 and then 2006:


Steve B

 

And another Talyllyn comparison: 1969 / 2006 - "Irish Pete" / "Tom Rolt"




For those that don't know "Tom Rolt" is a rebuild of a 3ft gauge Bord na Mona Barclay well tank - known unofficially as "Irish Pete" given it's previous life in the Irish peat bogs.

Steve B

 

Also the inspiration for Ivo Hugh in Mr Awdry Jr's books!

 

You can tell that I'm sorting through some old photos this evening - I really must get up into the loft and look for some other photos that I know that are there as well.

This time it's Llanfair Caereinion - again 1969 and then 2015. A similar view, but very different outlook. The coach in the earlier picture is now on the Welsh Highland.



Steve B

 

It would be interesting to compare and contrast Tywyn with Porthmadog where the trackwork layout has changed several times over the years.

Llanfair is interesting. I was there a few years back early morning waiting for the first train and the vibe I got was of somewhere where not much had changed since re-opening but it goes to show how much it has changed.

 

The Welshpool and Llanfair does leave you feeling that you've stepped into some sort of place where nothing has changed much from the "good old days", and yet there have been enormous changes, particularly at Llanfair, whilst the station at Welshpool is all completely post preservation. They must be doing something right!

You mention Porthmadog, and this was to be my next sample. Here we have the old "Earl of Meirionydd" (Livingston Thompson) on a train of varnished wood liveried coaches in 1969, and a couple of shots of the station after rebuilding in 2014. Where the Earl is standing in 1969 is actually now part of the loop line for the WHR side of the platform (one of the bits that didn't get moved!) - until the remodeling, the Cob footpath and the platform shared the same space - now it is fenced off and the platform is now an island platform between the two lines. Everything on the FR side has been moved over and realigned, using the much widened Cob. Not particularly obvious in the 1969 photo is that EoM is standing on a point that in those days still led to the goods shed, and which in days gone by also acted as the start of the connection to the WHR line over the Britannia Bridge. The modern arrangement makes for much easier working I would imagine!

In the background of the 1969 shot is "Moelwyn" arriving with a train of loco coal, all nicely loaded into wicker baskets to be tipped into the loco bunkers.

Also in the background is the Old Britannia Foundary, now I believe the office block on the site is a tax office.





Steve B

 

Last July there were planning application notices displayed suggesting that the former tax office was going to be demolished and the site used as a hotel.

Cheers, Neil

 

Premier Inn wish to build there, tax office relocated to centre of town, apparently its the only Welsh language translation service.