click to enlarge
It rather captures the bleakness of many wayside stations at the time. Just when the time is I do not know. Anywhere from the 1950s onwards. The station is neglected and its platforms are lit by gas lamps. It is winter and the few people on the platforms are dressed for it.
Health and Safety has not yet kicked in judging by the state of the platform with trip and slip hazards aplenty. The tracks though look ready for serious purpose. The Thames-Clyde Express would have been a daily blur of steam and speed through Settle then. Even so the track is of jointed rail - the things that gave trains that comforting di-der-di-der, di-der-di-der noise. Today's continuous rail has got rid of that. The ride is smoother but the experience has lost that accompaniment.
Recognising the depressing appearance, somebody is making the very best of it with flower beds. This suggests the work of Stationmaster Taylor - perhaps that is him with raincoat aflap on the down platform at the far end of which is the down water crane.
And on the far right is the water tower of course.
Prior to the footbridge of course people could use the barrow crossing at leisure, they must have been smarter then than we are now, not trusted to cross a track
ReplyDelete