Hardingstone Junction - signal box image

[Les Waters]

Hi,

I've just uploaded to the site a scan from an old glass negative, one of 15 I have recently purchased. I've identified a number of the images in the negatives as being from Hardingstone Northants. This particular image appears to be a family in front of a signal box - any idea if this is at or near Hardingstone Junction? The negs are from around 1890 I would estimate. Any information gratefully received. Thanks. Les Waters

[Les Waters]

Should have added the link to the photo. It is here:
http://thesmjr.ning.com/photo/glassneg6-1
Les

[Barry Taylor]

Les
What a fascinating shot ! It looks like a Midland Railway box to me although there is not a lot to go on in terms of location. The Hardingstone Junction MR box (there was also an LNWR box then) in those days was on the opposite side of the foot crossing to the one that most of us will remember. It was on the Wellingborough (east) side of the foot crossing so this view, if it is Hardingstone, looks away from Northampton and across towards Hardingstone, assuming that the box steps were adjacent to the foot crossing, and not on the other end. My recollections of the area in the 1950/60's is that this particular view would have been across fields (there was a gravel pit later) and the buildings in the background do not look right. The next box up the (Midland) Bedford line was Piddington - not a long cycle ride from Hardingstone in those days - and the relevant view there would have been across into the yard behind the station buildings. This is perhaps a bit more likely?
I remember a local lantern slide show -quite a few years ago now - where there were two or three railway shots, and one was an LNWR train approaching Hardingstone Junction from Wellingborough. The other was a shot of Northampton Bridge Street station with the original signalbox on the platform, before it was moved across the road. Does anyone know where these slides are now - I'd love to get a print of them.

[Dick Bodily]

I've no idea where it was taken but my guess is that it is a posed picture of a proud railway worker, possibly a signalman, and his family. It might be celebrating a promotion for the worker or the opening of a new signalbox. By the time that the GC London Extention had been built and was ready for opening and at around the time that this picture was taken perhaps for the first time advances in photography had made such an occasion easily recordable by such photographers as S W A Newton who recorded every aspect of the making of the GCR. See L T C Rolt's excellent collection of Newton's work 'The Making of a Railway', everyone from the humble wheeltaper to Sam Fay himself are portrayed on and off duty. It concludes with a posed photo of the smartly uniformed stationmaster of Woodford & Hinton surrounded by his proud and haughty looking wife and with his mischevious faced children all in their Sunday best celebrating 'Father's' promotion to stationmaster of the newly opened station. There are other similar family groups of railwaymen portrayed at Calvert and Charlwelton.

[Les Waters]

Thanks guys for the very helpful comments. I've checked out a few other photos of Midland signal boxes and I can see the similarities (fillets in the corners of the windows, type of boarding and brackets bracing the platform at the top of the stairs. Are any photos of the box at Hardingstone known? Les

[Les Waters]

I've done some more work on this batch of old negatives and identified a number of them being of Moreton Pinkney and Eydon. If the signal box featured was near there, does anyone have any suggestions as to location please?

Thanks

Les

Les Waters said:

Thanks guys for the very helpful comments. I've checked out a few other photos of Midland signal boxes and I can see the similarities (fillets in the corners of the windows, type of boarding and brackets bracing the platform at the top of the stairs. Are any photos of the box at Hardingstone known? Les

[Dick Bodily]

Les

There was a signalbox at Mor(e)ton Pinkney on the SMJ and two nearby on the Great Central at Culworth GC (which was actually only about half a mile from Moreton Pinkney) and at Culworth Junction where the Banbury branch left the Central. As well as Newton taking lots of pictures of the Central, the daughter of Sir Henry Dryden of Canons Ashby House was a noted early local photographer around the Moreton Pinkney area. I don't know if she took any pictures of the railway, but Morton signalbox was within half a mile of her house and was rather Midland like in construction. There's a picture of it in Jordan's SMJ history it was north of the line, west of the station.

Dick

[Dick Bodily]

Les

Today since my previous response I've been going through all the books, magazines etc with pix of signalboxes around Northants and am still on the case. I'm thinking now that your original idea of the Hardingstone area might be nearer the mark. Sorry to have mislead with info about the Moreton Pinkney area. I've found pictures of Ravenstone Junction box and it's very similar, although clearly not the same as the one in your mystery picture, in particular it has windows identical to the one behind the man in your picture. Its different in design to those SMJ boxes that I have got pictures of. My best guess now is that its somewhere on the Northampton to Bedford branch, probably between Hardingstone Junction and Turvey. It's certainly not Northampton Bridge Street or Bedford Road Crossing boxes which were of a different design and on former LNWR territory, but it could also be somewhere on the long demolished Northampton St John's spur which was MR territory, or of course further afield on the MR.

Dick

[Dick Bodily]

Have narrowed it down a bit if its somewhere on the Northampton - Bedford route as seems likely considering some of Les' other negatives show Hardingstone. Have ruled out Bedford Road (tiny LNWR box), Hardingstone Junction (LNWR style box), Ravenstone Junction (from photographic evidence - wrong way around), Olney (brick base). This would leave Barry's suggestion of Piddington as number one possibility and Turvey (definitely all wooden Midland stye but much further away from Hardingstone) second most likely. Have I missed out any boxes? Just the top of Piddington box roof can be seen on the Around Northampton DVD, frustratingly the rest is hidden behind a train, I haven't found a still picture of it.
Dick

[Jim Goodman]

There's a picture of Piddington in "Steam Nostalgia Around Northampton" (Richard Coleman & Joe Rajczonek).
Although the SB is quite distant it looks like the steps are on the left hand side of the box, whereas on the glass negative they appear to be on the right hand side, unless the photo was taken from the back.

I don't know the line very well but I do know that there was a busy siding for the power station, which was locally called HJ (Hardingstone Junction), Was this siding off the Midland line, and if so was there a Midland box there in pre-grouping days?

Jim.




Dick said:

Have narrowed it down a bit if its somewhere on the Northampton - Bedford route as seems likely considering some of Les' other negatives show Hardingstone. Have ruled out Bedford Road (tiny LNWR box), Hardingstone Junction (LNWR style box), Ravenstone Junction (from photographic evidence - wrong way around), Olney (brick base). This would leave Barry's suggestion of Piddington as number one possibility and Turvey (definitely all wooden Midland stye but much further away from Hardingstone) second most likely. Have I missed out any boxes? Just the top of Piddington box roof can be seen on the Around Northampton DVD, frustratingly the rest is hidden behind a train, I haven't found a still picture of it.
Dick