Corsham Station
It is believed that this is the second earliest photograph taken of a train at Corsham station. It probably dates for 1893 or early 1894. The engine, an ‘1854’ class of saddle tank, was built at Swindon Works in November 1892 and was later converted to a pannier tank in July 1912 and withdrawn from service, after 53 years of work, in November 1945. We can date this photograph fairly accurately by checking the track. Here we see rails laid on longitudinal sleepers, which date back to the broad gauge days and we know this was replaced by transverse sleepers in the Corsham area in 1893/4. With the driver and fireman on the footplate we have a selection of station staff being photographed and they include a porter, a shunter and various members of the Corsham permanent way gang. Information on the engine can be found in part 5 of ‘Locomotives of the G.W.R.’ published by the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society.
Michael Rumsey