April Fools Day many years ago, My father and I visited St. Erth, Cornwall, where I made these Fujichrome Sensia II slides of the lower quadrant semaphores that controlled train movements there.
Lower Quadrant Semaphores at St. Erth, Cornwall.
Tag Archives: Great Western Railway
HST’s Paddington—Contrasts
London offers wonderful contrasts linking the 19th century Victorian-era with more modern eras.
Paddington Station was the terminal for the Great Western Railway—Brunel’s broad gauge empire. Since that time the world has changed beyond recognition.
Today, albeit much enlarged, Paddington remains as an important urban hub.
When I visited in May 2010 the shed was filled with 1970s-vintage HST sets in modern paint, operated by First Great Western.
Such a difference in decades fascinates me.
What will this scene look like in another ten years? In another 100 years?
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Paddington Station, May 11, 2010.
HST under the Victorian Shed.
Exposed on May 11, 2010 using my Panasonic Lumix LX-3.
Here we have a contrast. Beneath the Victorian-era shed dating from the time of I.K. Brunel’s famous seven-foot gauge Great Western Railway (purists will note with precision, that the correct measurement of the track was 7 feet and ¼ inch) idles a 1970s-era HST.
That’s one of the great things about railways, is the fantastic longevity of technology and infrastructure. No place offers greater contrasts than Britain. Paddington is neither the oldest, and the nearly 40-year old HST’s are hardly Britain’s newest, but the point is made. Perhaps someone else will offer a more perfect juxtaposition!
Moments after I exposed this image, I boarded the First Great Western HST and soon after was gliding west on Brunel’s old GWR route. Today, this is one of the busiest non-electrified mainlines in the world. Not for long though, as I understand the wires are coming!
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