|
Edinburgh Railways in the 1950s
Ten Railway Cleaners |
Ten
Railway Cleaners and three buckets - Where was this photograph
taken?
©
Reproduced by
courtesy of
Archie
Foley
|
Ten Railway Cleaners |
|
Where was this photograph of railway cleaners with their three buckets
taken? It was presumably taken in the Edinburgh area in the 1950s,
as were all the other photos from the same source that have been
identified.
If you know the location, please
email me |
|
ANSWER |
|
Thank you to Sandy Maclean
for providing the following answer:
|
|
Reply
1.
Sandy Maclean |
|
Thank you to Archie Cairns
who wrote: |
|
Craigentinny
©
"This
photograph was taken at the west end of the Craigentinny Carriage Sidings.
Behind the staff at the platform was one of the then fairly new Edinburgh
and Glasgow Inter-City diesel multiple unit sets, and on the right are a
main line locomotive and the yard pilot just behind the water tank.
The shed at the rear was known locally
as the "Black Shed", although the origin is rather obscure and it was the
first such cleaning shed in Edinburgh for railway carriages, although
carriages were cleaned elsewhere at open
platforms or in stations."
Sandy Maclean, January 19+28, 2009 |
|
Reply
2.
Archie Cairns |
|
Archie
Cairns has come up with a different answer as to where this photo might
have been taken.
Archie wrote: |
|
Roseburn/Murrayfield
©
"I think these railway maintenance sheds were
over at Roseburn/Murrayfield.
I used to work at a Ross' sweetie factory,
back in the 1960s. We used to have access to the railway canteen.
I'm sure I have seen similar photos of those sheds without the girls.
The only other place I can think of where
there was a coach cleaning depot was down near Portobello.
*
Archie Cairns: November 26, 2012 |
|
Archie:
Can you tell
me why you think this photo was taken at Roseburn/ Murrayfield,
rather than at Portobello/Craigentinny.
In
recollections 1 above, Sandy Maclean gives quite a bit of evidence
in favour of it having been taken at Craigentinny.
Thank you.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: November 26, 2012 |
|
Reply
3.
Archie Cairns |
|
Thank you to
Archie Cairns who replied: |
|
Maintenance Sheds
©
"I might have got the location wrong since all
these sheds look alike. This photo simply triggered the story of
the, railway canteen and maintenance sheds at Roseburn.
I've no wish to contradict the original author
who I am sure has researched the subject. I am simply drawing from
memory, and its pretty old and grey now.*
Archie Cairns: November 26, 2012 |
|
Reply
4.
Gus Coutts
Duddingston, Edinburgh |
|
Thank you to
Gus Coutts who replied: |
|
Not Craigentinny?
©
"I have my doubts that this photo was taken at
Craigentinny Carriage Sidings.
As boy, in the early-1950s, I was a keen train
spotter and spent many hours on the overbridge at the west end of
Fishwives Causeway.
If you look at the signals on the right of the
photo they would be on the Main Line so unless the photo has been reversed
it can't be The West End of the sidings.
As I recall, all the sidings were dead ends
with no exit to The Main Line at The East End.
I cannot remember a Water Tower at The West
End nor do I remember there being a Yard Pilot locomotive.
If the photo was taken at Craigentinny and is
unreversed it must have been taken from well within the yard looking west,
but unless the yard was considerably reconfigured subsequent to the end of
my spotting days, which preceded the introduction of DMU's by several
years, I think that is unlikely*
Archie Cairns, Duddingston, Edinburgh: November 26, 2012 |
|
Reply
5.
Alan Grieve
Minehead, Somerset, England |
|
Thank you to
Alan Grieve who added: |
|
This Photo may well be Craigentinny Depot
©
"From my recollections of Portobello West
Signal Box, I feel sure there was a connection to Craigentinny Carriage
Sidings at the East End. The 1957 diagram of the West box shows a down
loop line commencing just to the west of the signal box which also led
into a locomotive siding.
More Photos on the Railscot Web Site
As regards the comments about the signal shown
in the photo, have a look at the eighth photo on this page of photos of
Craigentinny Depot on the
Railscot web site.
The signal shown in the photograph on your
site could well be the one
above the first coach of the train leaving the sidings and the building
could be that seen on the extreme right of the photograph. There are a
number of other pics of this signal and the building on the right in the
later pages of the Railscot site.*
Alan Grieve, Minehead, Somerset, England: December 1,
2012 |
|
Reply
6.
Patrick Lindsay
Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
|
Thank you to
Patrick Lindsay for posting a message in the EdinPhoto guestbook, and
identifying this photo as having been taken at Craigentinny Coaching Stock
Maintenance Depot.
Patrick wrote: |
|
Photos in Books
Craigentinny
©
Book 1
"If anyone has a copy of AJ Mullay's
excellent little book 'Rail Centres - Edinburgh', go to page 99 and the
pic of Craigentinny CSMD shows almost the same view looking in the
opposite direction (towards the East coast and claimed as taken in 1958).
There are many features that exactly match.
Also, bear in mind that the carriage sidings were gradually changed into
the 1960s and beyond, so not all the poles and lamps will necessarily
match in both pics. The East Coast Main Line (ECML) lines are the
two to the far left."
Book 2
"You can also see a more familiar view taken
from the footbridge over the railway between Portobello Road and
Mountcastle Estate in 1964 on p44 of another excellent book - 'An
Illustrated History of Edinburgh's Railways' by Smith and Anderson."
Patrick LIndsay, Perth, Western Australia, Australia:
Message posted in EdinPhoto guestbook: December 17, 2012 |
|
Reply
7.
Gus Coutts
Duddingston, Edinburgh |
|
Gus Coutts
said, in his 'Reply 4, above, that he thought this photo might not have
been taken at Craigentinny:
However Gus has now written again.
Thank you to
Gus who wrote: |
|
Craigentinny
"I have both books referred to by Patrick
Lindsay in his 'Reply 6' above.
Looking at the photos therein I can confirm
that he is correct. It is Craigentinny."
Gus Coutts, Duddingston, Edinburgh: December 23, 2012 |
|
Reply
8.
Alan Grieve
Minehead, Somerset, England |
|
Thank you to Alan Grieve who wrote again.
Allan added: |
|
Craigentinny Carriage Sidings
"As
well as the photograph on Page 99 of A J Mullay's book, 'Rail Centres -
Edinburgh', which proves that this original photograph was taken at
Craigentinny Carriage Sidings,
©
there is on the next page a layout diagram of Craigentinny.
Although this is dates 1987 it does show two track access from the East
end, which matches the two tracks that left the down main line on my
Portobello West Signal Box diagram.
Alan Grieve, Minehead, Somerset, England: December 24,
2012 |
|
The Photographer |
© |
This is one of
several photos taken by this photographer. He
appears to have been a keen photographer and a railway worker
in the 1950s. I believe that this is a photograph of
him.
Do you recognise him?
If you know who this is, please
email me. Thank you. |
|
|
