t
This revolution was to be the biggest change the railway had witnessed in over a century and would see the end of steam, the introduction of diesel and electric traction and the closure of literally thousands of miles of track. Paul Hocquard had the foresight to seek out the unusual, the last survivors and at times the downright bizarre, recorded here as a permanent record of a landscape that would soon change beyond all recognition.
ISBN 978-1-913893-34-7
£13.50
The Final Decade: the 1960s railway scene - a second selection
‘The Final Decade: the 1960s railway scene - a second selection’ showcases more of Paul Hocquard’s masterful photography capturing the change from the Victorian railway to a modern network intended for a modern time.
The Final Decade: the 1960s railway scene - a second selection
Images from the Paul Hocquard collection at The Transport Treasury compiled by Kevin Robertson
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A spread of opposites. Left we have two ladies in summer frocks although perhaps more of interest from the fashions of the day and the weather is No 20 Shanklin in the background. The location is Ryde Pierhead, the foot passengers seeming to prefer to walk to the ferry rather than use the train or the pier tramway. On this side a day when summer clothes would definitely not be welcome. This is the water tower at what had been the locomotive shed at Newport and which continued to be available to engines even though the shed itself had closed in the late 1950s with all maintenance now concentrated at Ryde. Extreme cold such as this is unusual on the Island which often serves as a micro-climate compared with the mainland.
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A pair of Cravens built DMU sets at Kentish Town. Compared with steam, passengers welcomed the open design of most of the DMUs, forward vision also possible often for the first time as well - although some drivers did not particularly like being observed and would pull down the night blind behind them.
The former Great Eastern lines in East Anglia were ripe for modernisation and a number of the early ‘First Generation’ as they are now referred to, DMU sets were sent to the area. Although they succeeded in pausing the decline in passenger numbers routes in the area were experiencing, it was not sufficient to increase revenue and Long Melford was destined to be one of many to lose its rail facilities completely. (To the right the signal for the line to Lavenham and Bury St Edmunds has already been removed and the track lifted.)
The short branch line from Brockenhurst to Lymington survived the cuts of the 1960s possibly because of its connection to the Isle of Wight ferry serving the western side of the Island. It would also gain the distinction of being the last steam worked branch line anywhere in the country although in 1967 motive power was limited to BR Standard and Ivatt tank classes, the M7 design seen here crossing between the Town and Pier stations at Lymington having disappeared in 1964.
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Paul was one of a select band who did not confine themselves to one location, seeking out the rural railway before it disappeared for ever. Here we see his work in capturing the rear of a branch freight, and at right recording a fellow photographer on their own outing - perhaps even the pair worked hand in hand. A notable feature of the country lanes of the period was the almost complete absence of traffic.
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t
This revolution was to be the biggest change the railway had witnessed in over a century and would see the end of steam, the introduction of diesel and electric traction and the closure of literally thousands of miles of track. Paul Hocquard had the foresight to seek out the unusual, the last survivors and at times the downright bizarre, recorded here as a permanent record of a landscape that would soon change beyond all recognition.
ISBN 978-1-913893-34-7
£13.50
The Final Decade: the 1960s railway scene - a second selection
‘The Final Decade: the 1960s railway scene - a second selection’ showcases more of Paul Hocquard’s masterful photography capturing the change from the Victorian railway to a modern network intended for a modern time.
The Final Decade: the 1960s railway scene - a second selection
Images from the Paul Hocquard collection at The Transport Treasury compiled by Kevin Robertson