This photograph of a Locomotion hauling a train of Chaldron Wagons was taken in September 1925 when the train was part of the Stockton and Darlington Railway Centenary Cavalcade, the location is unknown but is probably on the section of line between Eaglescliffe and Dinsdale.
The original photograph in my collection is on very old photographic paper and not in very good condition but there is a bit of a mystery surrounding the photograph – on the left hand side of the print can be seen parallel lines which do not appear to be damage to the photograph and look to be high voltage power cables as seen on modern day pylons, yet an Internet search reveals that pylons were first introduced in Scotland in 1927/28.
I’ve been unable to find any maps of the area specific to 1925, can anybody help with identification of the location and possibly an explanation of the parallel lines…
Photograph and details courtesy of Dave Summerfield.
It would be pretty difficult to get a location for it as its so long ago – much has changed in that time…
Power lines on the Newport-Shildon electric railway?
Maybe it is just an imperfection in the photo, as there doesn’t appear to be any poles, and the wires are widely spaced don’t you think..?
The suggestion that they are telephone wires makes sense as they were usually strung along railway tracks.
But the North East was the first region in the country to have an interconnected grid in which individual powerstations were linked together. This came in after about 1915, I think, and the man behind it was Charles Merz on Newcastle. His system ran at 40 Hz ( 40 cycless per sec) unlike the present UK frequency of 50Hz. It was because of this, that much of the electrical equipment at ICI Billingam had to be specially built to run at this frequency.
Dave – maybe the lines are telephone wires?