|
Where is it? and when? |
Possibly one of the docks on the Firth of Forth?
© Reproduced
with acknowledgement to Doug Chatham, Edinburgh
Thank you to Michael Melrose
for discovering that this photo had been displayed wrong way
round.
See Reply 5 below. Here is
how it should have be displayed.
© Reproduced
with acknowledgement to Doug Chatham, Edinburgh
|
Comment 1. Doug Chatham Edinburgh |
|
Thank you to Doug Chatham for allowing me to reproduce this photo. Doug tells me that it comes from a small collection that he bought on eBay. Others from the same collection are views of docks and harbours in Fife, on the Firth of Forth. Doug wrote: |
|
Leith Docks? "This photo is from a collection that I bought from an eBay seller in England. There is no photographer's name or date on the photo, and its location is listed as 'Leigh Docks'. The photo may be of Leith Docks, Edinburgh. Can anybody confirm this, or suggest when the photo might have been taken. I reckon that this and other photos in the same collection may have been taken around the 1880s, possibly associated with the ferries to Fife before the Forth Bridge was opened in 1890." Doug Chatham: May 29 + July 15, 2014 |
|
Reply to Doug The low buildings and the cranes beside the dock remind me of those that used to be on the south side of Albert Dock at Leith Harbour, but I don't recognise the larger buildings on the right-hand side of the photo. If you have any suggestions for Doug as to where and when this photo might have been taken, please email me, then I'll give you Doug's email address so that you can contact him. Maybe a railway historian might help to date this photo. Thank you. Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: July 16, 2014 |
|
Reply 1. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
|
Thank you to Dodds who replied: |
|
Leith Docks? "Your image looks as if it's Leith Docks, but then all docks look pretty much the same!." Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: March 18, 2013 |
|
Reply 2. Ray Melville Rosyth, Fife, Scotland |
|
Ray Melville replied |
|
Docks "Can a clue be found on the railway wagons? The resolution is not good enough to read the ownership, but the one on the left may be LMS, which would date the photo post-1923. Another may be SR, which would also be post-1923, and unlikely to be in Scotland" Ray Melville, Rosyth, Fife, Scotland: July 17, 2014 |
|
I've asked Doug Chatham if he can let me have a higher resolution image of his photo. If I manage to read any more details on the wagons, I'll add a note about it to this page. Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: July 17, 2014 |
|
Reply 3. Doug Chatham Edinburgh |
||
|
Thank you to Douglas Chatham for sending me a higher resolution copy of his photo of the dock buildings, cranes and railway. |
||
|
Douglas wrote: Docks "Here is the highest resolution image that I have. The date of the picture and the lettering on the wagons is still inconclusive, though the lowest railway wagon may say CR on its side. Douglas Chatham, Edinburgh: July 21, 2014
|
|
Reply 4. George Renton Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
|
Thank you to George Renton who wrote |
|
Docks When was it? Later than 1890s? "Looking at this photo, the dock cranes don't appear to have chimneys, so that tells me that they would be electric. Did many docks have electrification in the 1890's? Also, you can that mast tops of a vessel are showing above the roofs. It appears to have radio antenna wires running between the fore and main mast. I think the photo is from a later period than the 1890's." Where was it? Leith Docks? I wonder: 1. Is the size and type of masonry used and the technique used in the dock walls similar to that found in Leith? 2. Could the large building be an ice house, with the steam from boiled house chiminea at the extreme right edge of the photo? 3. Might someone with intimate knowledge of railway rolling stock be able to date this photo from the style and type of running gear, ie wheel bearing boxes on the wagons? George Renton, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada: July 28, 2014 (2 emails) |
|
Reply 5. Michael Melrose Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
|
Thank you to Michael Melrose who wrote: |
|
Docks When and Where? Later than 1890s? "I flipped the high-res photo horizontally and enhanced it severely in Photoshop. - The logo on one of the two higher-sided wagons is 'GE' which I think means 'Great Eastern Railway'. - The logo on another of the wagons is 'LBSC'. i.e. London, Brighton & South Coast Railway. I hope that helps to date the photo." Michael Melrose, Greenbank, Edinburgh: August 11, 2014 (2 emails) |
|
South or East Coast of England? Thank you Michael. That's a good job you made of enhancing the photo. I appreciate that. In particular, thank you for noticing that the image at the top of this page had been displayed the wrong way round. From the evidence that you've provided, it seems likely to me that the photo would have been taken somewhere around the South or East Coast of England, and not very likely that it would have been taken at Leith Docks, Edinburgh, as originally thought. I hoped that the railway company names on the wagons might have been helpful in pinning down the approximate date of the photo, but: - The Great Eastern Railway existed from 1862 until 1922, and some of the company's wagons may have remained in GER livery for a few years beyond 1922. - The London, Brighton a& South Coast Railway existed from 1846 until 1922, and some of the company's wagons may have remained in LB&SCR livery for a few years beyond 1922. So we may need to rely on the style of wagon or other features of the photo, rather than the railway company names in order to discover an approximate date for the photo. Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: August 11, 2014 |