Building the last Main Line Railway

Rugby to Barby: gcrcs105

This Steam Navvy is at work on a section of contractor's temporary railway near Rugby, Warwickshire. The shape of the earth piled in front and the general landscape would seem to indicate that the Steam Navvy is trimming back spoil tipped on a slight embankment.

The contractor's temporary railway appears to be in the process of being extended forward as indicated by the sleepers lying on top of the ground and the rails alongside. The hutting in the distance looks as if it is one of the contractor's accomodation camps.

Note the sheet of corrugated metal which has been used to provide shelter for the engine's crew. This is an unusual example of the improvised cabs fashioned by the contractors: more typically, the supports holding the metal in place would be clad in wood to form a totally enclosed cabin.

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