Postcard of the Day No. 115, Saintes, Passarelle du Passage à Niveau

Saintes is a small town in Charente-Maritime on the railway linking La Rochelle with Bordeaux. A local postcard photographer has succumbed to the charms of robust displays of structural steel near the town station and, on a gloomy winter day, aimed a camera at the footbridge and level crossing that both join and separate the two halves of the town. For some this would have been seen as a modern intrusion into a traditional townscape, for others it was a minor wonder of the age. A trio of curious youngsters, with wheelbarrow and a passing facteur, with bicycle, have paused to witness what happens. In a drowsy town, any break with routine is welcomed. Especially if there's a chance of seeing their likenesses in print. The original photographic plate would have recorded much more detailed visual information than the limitations of the printed card would permit, but the enlarged details with all their imperfections have a charm of their own.

 

Postcard of the Day No. 113, Sutton Bridge

It seems the arrival of the camera was anticipated since the signalman has brought his daughters along to be part of the photograph. Father is stood behind them as they pose on the balcony.  Another railway employee stands in the doorway to the signal box, sporting a watch and chain.  In the distance the operator of the swing bridge has stepped out of the control cabin to be included in the picture.  All is unusually pristine and crisp - from the timber fencing to the signal gantries via the rivets on the bridge. The track work and the signal cabling is in immaculate condition.

This is the Cross Keys Swing Bridge, an east-west crossing of the River Nene at the Lincolnshire town of Sutton Bridge as photographed from the station. When it opened in 1897, one span served as a roadway while the other was used for railway traffic by the Midland and Great Northern Railway connecting East Anglia with the Midlands and Northern England, mainly for the transport of coal and it remained that way until the railway closed in 1965. The spans are only wide enough for one-way operation and two signal boxes were required to safely filter the rail traffic into a single track. Power supply for moving the bridge was initially provided by two adapted locomotive boilers installed by Armstrong, Whitworth. In latter years electric motors did the job. Commercial shipping bound for Wisbech and leisure craft still pass and the bridge remains in occasional use. Both the bridge and the Engine House (not visible in the postcard) are Grade II* listed by Historic England. 

Heywood Sumner

 

Postcard of the Day No. 62, The London Express Crossing the High Street

Much resented by motorists for whom conceding priority to slow and pointless trains is an insult to their pride, the level crossing is on the way to being extinct in Britain. An impatient and individualistic population is increasingly inclined to accept a high degree of risk to life in order to avoid delay and the frequency of accidents at level crossings has soared in recent decades. In the interests of safety Network Rail plans to eliminate as many as possible with all due speed and replace them with bridges, underpasses or diversions. Since 2009 some 700 have been closed leaving more than 6,500 of which another 500 are scheduled for closure. This example in Poole is a genuine curiosity, the only place where a main line crosses a pedestrianised main shopping street ensuring a constant flow. Despite the provision of a footbridge there have been many instances of locals vaulting, dodging or attempting to outrun the barriers as they descend. In response Network Rail installed additional safety features in 2013, including a vault-proof barrier – it remains to be seen whether the youth of Poole will rise to the challenge. The Poole crossing is one of very few to have been the subject of a painting – the former Camden Town Group artist, Henry Lamb captured the scene in a painting of 1953, now in the collection of the National Rail Museum in York.