Then and Now

I've posted a couple of shots on my Flickr site.

Taken at the entrance to Collyhurst tunnel, Manchester. The first shows a then and now shot with a view on the left from April 1979. It shows a Calder Valley DMU emerging from the tunnel heading for Manchester Victoria. The shot on the right is from the same spot in June 2010. This shows the Metrolink preparation in full swing. Interesting to compare them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/graham_wil ... 395377894/


The other shot shows a composite of the two, with a ghostly DMU emerging through the Metrolink works.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/graham_wil ... 395410176/


I think I might try more of these, although the undergrowth, fences, restricted access etc. will make a lot of locations very difficult to reshoot.

 

Comes up as page not found Graham,is there another link?

regards
Chris:

 

Seems like the full website address is not being entered in the address bar.

 

Sorry chaps, try these:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/graham_williams/5395377894/

and then:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/graham_williams/5395410176/

 

Seems ok now, cheers.

 

Fascinating! Reminds me of a book on one of my shelves entitled "Somerset & Dorset - Then and Now" by Mac Hawkins. It's full of archive photos taken along the old S&D paired with 'now' photos of the same scene. Although, as the book was published in the 1980s, you could add a third set of pictures which show how parts of the line are being brought back to life by various groups!

John.

 

I've also got this book plus the Great Central version. Also got most of the "Past & Present" series. All make very interesting reading & shows how much former railway infrastructure has been wrecked. The biggest insult is where former railway formations are turned into roads & supermarkets built on station/loco shed sites.

 

I suppose that's the nature of progress. Where there's no realistic prospect of further railway use, it makes sense to re-use land that was once graded by railway engineers for new roads today. Much as we regret seeing old railway infrastructure disappear (Bourton-on-the-water station for instance), we can't hang on to it for ever when there are more urgent commercial uses for the otherwise derelict land.

John.

 

Here's another one. Same place looking the other way with a Class 40 and Class 504 in 1979 and Metrolink works in 2010.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/graham_williams/5396180528/