Rail workers stop for a photograph

Category

Library Item

Item no

37687

Title

Rail workers stop for a photograph whilst digging the Waverley Line out from heavy snowfall

Description

John Robertson (Jock) is standing second from left in the picture. He worked as a railway maintenance worker.

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1947

Size

9.0 x 12.7 cm

Type

Photograph

This photograph was taken in the severe winter of 1947, when the snow covering the tracks of the Waverley Line had to be dug out manually. The men were roped together for safety but in spite of the cold they were in everyday working clothes and some were bare-headed and without gloves!

The Waverley Line was run by the North British Railway from Edinburgh to Carlisle until it was closed in 1969 after the Beeching Report. A long campaign resulted in the re-opening of part of the route. The Borders Railway links Edinburgh to the Borders town of Tweedbank and was opened on 9th September by Her Majesty the Queen. At over 30 miles it is the longest track to be laid in over a hundred years.

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Related subjects

Natural phenomena > Weather > Snow

People > Transportation > Railway workers

Places > Scotland > Borders

Transport > Infrastructure > Bridges

Transport > Infrastructure > Railway