Building the last Main Line Railway

Catesby Tunnel and Viaduct: gcrcs166

 Looking down into the valley towards the rising brick piers of Catesby viaduct, a twelve arch structure that eventually carried the London Extension across the River Leam. Running beside the infant viaduct and making the steep climb up towards the course of the main line is a section of contractor's temporary railway. A scotch derrick and steam powered jib are being used to tip the spoil, whilst in the foreground a single navvy has turned to face the camera.

Photographs such as this are what help to make the Newton collection such a remarkable archive. By capturing the engineering techniques and transitional landscapes that accompany railway construction, he compiled a unique tribute to a part of our nation's past which other photographers had long neglected.

back