Building the last Main Line Railway

Catesby Tunnel and Viaduct: gcrcs155

A wonderful snapshot of railway construction in earnest, looking down from a cutting strewn with rocks and debris towards the northern portal of Catesby tunnel. The entrance is far from complete and is shrouded in a temporary timber facade. A line of empty tipping wagons waits on the contractor's rails.

On the right of the picture is one of the mighty Ruston steam navvies: its makeshift wooden cab gives the machine a rather clumsy and dilapidated appearance, but these formidable machines represented a significant advance in railway construction and were arguably the contractor's greatest asset.

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