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A footbridge across wasteland (1971 photo). Where is it?
Please send your answers to raildate.co.uk@gmail.com
A company town next to the railway, in otherwise-rural surroundings
Answer: Wolverton. Congratulations are due to the following for their correct answers: Brian George, Phil Deaves, Colin Penfold, Brian Billing, Dave Goodyear, John Czyrko, Andrew Treves, Paul Hopper, John Musselwhite, Dave Mant, Mike Rogers, Chris Neale, Jim Allwood, Steve Beck, Paul Clayton, Jeremy Harrison, Andy Foster, George Spink, Richard Maund, Blair Robinson, Michael Willsher, Paul Tambini, Rob Williams
Wolverton and Swindon were both instances where early railway companies (London & Birmingham and GWR respectively) sited their works midway, next to canals, and built company towns for the workers. When the L&NWR took over from the L&B, Crewe became the main site for loco manufacture and Wolverton was repurposed as the main carriage works. Facilities have shrunk in recent years, with the eastern part turned over to an Electrolux warehouse and the central part to retail and housing. But the western end still functions as a heavy maintenance facility, operated by Gemini (part of the German Mutares group).
Wolverton was also the "Envelope Town". The L&NWR persuaded McCorquodale - their timetable printers - to set up alongside the carriage works to give employment to the daughters of railwaymen. The company town has since been swallowed by Milton Keynes and is no longer rural!
(Swindon was our poser in June. Read the answer here.)
Five out of 278 LNWR Special Tanks (c.1870) survived into BR days, and Jack Faithfull managed to capture three of them at Wolverton on 19th October 1954. RCTS Digital Archive
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© Matthew Shaw 2024