Duffs o'er South Glos.
Train and locomotive unidentified, but established by negative sequence to have been taken on Tuesday 26th November 1974. Now I'm confused. I'd thought that those unsightly courses of concrete block appeared here and at other bridges along this line as part of the strengthening work in advance of the introduction of HSTs. The South Wales main line was closed between Wootton Bassett and Westerleigh for six months commencing May 1975 for the work to be carried out. OK, this was west of Westerleigh on a stretch that had to be kept open for the north-east to south-west cross-country trains; but still; today I find myself unable to piece together the precise chronology. The other thing that strikes me in this view is that the two columns of stone, left and right of the bridge ...locally quarried "pennant" sandstone... are for appearances only. We can see here that they are a single thickness, giving merely the semblance of solidity; structurally they are entirely unnecessary. Good old Ilford HP4, so plenty of grain. This useful vantage-point is inaccessible today, barred at road level by Network Rail's horrid "palisade" fencing.
Duffs o'er South Glos.
Train and locomotive unidentified, but established by negative sequence to have been taken on Tuesday 26th November 1974. Now I'm confused. I'd thought that those unsightly courses of concrete block appeared here and at other bridges along this line as part of the strengthening work in advance of the introduction of HSTs. The South Wales main line was closed between Wootton Bassett and Westerleigh for six months commencing May 1975 for the work to be carried out. OK, this was west of Westerleigh on a stretch that had to be kept open for the north-east to south-west cross-country trains; but still; today I find myself unable to piece together the precise chronology. The other thing that strikes me in this view is that the two columns of stone, left and right of the bridge ...locally quarried "pennant" sandstone... are for appearances only. We can see here that they are a single thickness, giving merely the semblance of solidity; structurally they are entirely unnecessary. Good old Ilford HP4, so plenty of grain. This useful vantage-point is inaccessible today, barred at road level by Network Rail's horrid "palisade" fencing.