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LMS Route: Rugby to Wolverhampton
LMS Route: Nuneaton to Leamington

Coventry Station: lnwr620b

Close up of the down platform, train shed and passenger footbridge whilst a locomotive is seen underneath taking on water

This close up of image 'lnwr620' showing the down platform, train shed and passenger footbridge whilst a locomotive is seen underneath taking on water. Unfortunately its not possible to determine whether or not the train standing on the down through road is without a locomotive providing speculation that the locomotive by the water column is the train's locomotive having reversed into the down platform take on water. Such an occurrence would not necessarily have been unusual because at the time of the photograph railway policemen, or "bobbies" - as they are still known as today, were still controlling train journeys by the time interval system. Before signal boxes and and the division of the route in to 'blocks' the setting of points and signals was still operated by hand. In all probability this train was not scheduled to stop at Coventry and the points and signals would have been set by the bobby to allow the train to pass through on the fast down line. In which case the driver would have brought his engine to a standstill opposite the water column and explained the need to take on water. In this case with the train standing on the down through line, the locomotive would have to be drawn forward clear of the points and then reversed back in to the down platform to access the water column.

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