L3351 - Steam navvy and men excavating cutting in Buckinghamshire

iBase ID

9929

Title

Description

L3351 - This rare recording of a steam navvy without the ramshackle shelter commonly constructed over its' footplate enables us to appreciate the impressive nature of this formidable and beautifully maintained machine. Although the steam excavator can be regarded as the heavy artillery of railway construction after its introduction in 1880, the men retained their importance in the digging and securing of cuttings, alongside removal of tipping waste. In the far left of the photograph towards the top of the cutting, a navvy rests from his labour, leaning on his shovel to pose for S. W. A. Newton's lens. The majority of the men in the foreground of the image also carry a shovel. Three horses are also included in the frame, one of which is harnessed to a wagon filled with tipping waste, ready for transport along temporary tracks (see right of photograph). The precise location of this image is unknown, although it can be narrowed down to part of the Great Western and Great Central Joint line in Buckinghamshire.

British Railways - S. W. A. Newton Collection

More information about these photographs and the Great Central Railway can be found here

Maker

S.W.A. Newton

LCC ID. No.

L3351.tif

Image Use

Personal use only unless otherwise agreed

Notes

IM&ICT - RC
Original media type: Glass plate negative

Exhibitions with this image

L3351 - This rare recording of a steam navvy without the ramshackle shelter commonly constructed over its' footplate enables us to appreciate the impressive nature of this formidable and beautifully maintained machine. Although the steam excavator can be regarded as the heavy artillery of railway construction after its introduction in 1880, the men retained their importance in the digging and securing of cuttings, alongside removal of tipping waste. In the far left of the photograph towards the top of the cutting, a navvy rests from his labour, leaning on his shovel to pose for S. W. A. Newton's lens. The majority of the men in the foreground of the image also carry a shovel. Three horses are also included in the frame, one of which is harnessed to a wagon filled with tipping waste, ready for transport along temporary tracks (see right of photograph). The precise location of this image is unknown, although it can be narrowed down to part of the Great Western and Great Central Joint line in Buckinghamshire.

British Railways - S. W. A. Newton Collection

More information about these photographs and the Great Central Railway can be found here

Subjects

Transport

Transport > Rail

Working Life

Working Life > Industrial

File metadata

File name

8312.jpg

File size

2.06 MB

File extension

JPEG