Tankman
28-09-2010, 06:23 PM
The Task: to find something famous in your area? Find old photos, then go back and recreate 'said photos' as close as possible to the originals to see how things have changed:thumb
Local to me was the famous Great Train Robbery:thumb
A bit of history:
Late on Wednesday 7th August 1963 the "Up Special" train left Glasgow en-route for Euston. The train was a TPO (Travelling Post Office) and consisted of a number of carriages where Post Office staff sorted the mail and parcels en-route prior to its arrival in London. The second carriage from the front of the train was a HVP (High Value Package) where registered mail was sorted. Much of this consisted of cash. Usually the value of these items would have been in the region of £300,000 but, because there had been a Bank Holiday Weekend in Scotland the total on the day of the robbery was £2.3 million. (About £30 million today).
The train passed Leighton Buzzard at about 3am the following day and a minute or two later the Driver, Jack Mills saw a red signal ahead at a place called Sears Crossing. He did not realise that the red light was false, a glove had been stuffed onto the proper signal and the red light was activated by attaching it to a 6-volt battery.
When he stopped, his co-driver Dave Whitby climbed out of the cab in order to ring the signalman to ascertain the problem. He discovered that the cables from the line-side phone had been cut and as he turned to return to his train he was attacked and thrown down the steep railway embankment. At the same time a masked man climbed into the train cab and coshed the driver around the head rendering him unconscious. Meanwhile other robbers were uncoupling the rest of the carriages leaving on the engine and the first two carriages containing the high-value property.
The steep embankments at Sears crossing were unpractical for removing the loot from the train but the gang had done their homework and had planned to drive the train a mile further to Bridego Bridge.
(Bridge number 127) Here Land Rovers were waiting to convey the cash to a hideout a few miles away.
But it was now that the well-planned heist encountered the first problem. One of the gang had spent months befriending railway staff on the pretence of being a railway enthusiast. He had been allowed rides in the cabs of trains and had even been permitted to drive a few trains.
His part in the robbery was to drive the train onto the rendezvous point but as he climbed into the cab of the train he realised that this huge diesel train was far more complicated than the local trains he had previously travelled in. One of the gang members Ronnie BIGGS (it was his 34th birthday) had to rouse the driver to continue the journey.
In the front two carriages frightened post office staff were pushed to one end by some of the fifteen strong gang - but, in the remaining ten carriages (left at Sears Crossing) staff did not even realise anything had happened.
At Bridego Bridge a human chain of robbers removed 120 sacks containing 2 ½ tons of money.
The rest is history:thumb
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/article-1181525-003D0D6A00000258-53_468x308.jpg
8 August 1963. The 'Up' TPO in the daylight! Still at the place where the Robbery took place hours before.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/016.jpg
26 August 2010, Bridego Bridge No.127 trees obscure part of the bridge where the mail bags were thrown down, but the telephone pole still survives, so that a good comparison can be found:thumb
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/Great_Train_244836a.jpg
Detectives from the 'Met' police arrived in the afternoon to take charge. The local 'Plod' did not have the resources available in such a rural area.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/003.jpg
The same site today
After the police had finished with the train it was moved on to Cheddington Station and shunted onto the old Aylesbury branch line platform, where further investigations were carried out.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/storyfdde9739a50289fcb859bb02333f4269.jpg
The train sits in Chedddington station. 8/8/63
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/024.jpg
The same location today near as possible by the building on the right.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/U1390498H.jpg
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/U1390498H.jpg
The robbed mail coach sits at Cheddington station, with a police guard. This photo was taken from the footbridge.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/019.jpg
The same location today:thumb Taken from the footbridge the curve of the original platform has been cut back somewhat and is now fenced off:smile
Thanks for looking:thumb
More photos here:
http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/?start=all
Local to me was the famous Great Train Robbery:thumb
A bit of history:
Late on Wednesday 7th August 1963 the "Up Special" train left Glasgow en-route for Euston. The train was a TPO (Travelling Post Office) and consisted of a number of carriages where Post Office staff sorted the mail and parcels en-route prior to its arrival in London. The second carriage from the front of the train was a HVP (High Value Package) where registered mail was sorted. Much of this consisted of cash. Usually the value of these items would have been in the region of £300,000 but, because there had been a Bank Holiday Weekend in Scotland the total on the day of the robbery was £2.3 million. (About £30 million today).
The train passed Leighton Buzzard at about 3am the following day and a minute or two later the Driver, Jack Mills saw a red signal ahead at a place called Sears Crossing. He did not realise that the red light was false, a glove had been stuffed onto the proper signal and the red light was activated by attaching it to a 6-volt battery.
When he stopped, his co-driver Dave Whitby climbed out of the cab in order to ring the signalman to ascertain the problem. He discovered that the cables from the line-side phone had been cut and as he turned to return to his train he was attacked and thrown down the steep railway embankment. At the same time a masked man climbed into the train cab and coshed the driver around the head rendering him unconscious. Meanwhile other robbers were uncoupling the rest of the carriages leaving on the engine and the first two carriages containing the high-value property.
The steep embankments at Sears crossing were unpractical for removing the loot from the train but the gang had done their homework and had planned to drive the train a mile further to Bridego Bridge.
(Bridge number 127) Here Land Rovers were waiting to convey the cash to a hideout a few miles away.
But it was now that the well-planned heist encountered the first problem. One of the gang had spent months befriending railway staff on the pretence of being a railway enthusiast. He had been allowed rides in the cabs of trains and had even been permitted to drive a few trains.
His part in the robbery was to drive the train onto the rendezvous point but as he climbed into the cab of the train he realised that this huge diesel train was far more complicated than the local trains he had previously travelled in. One of the gang members Ronnie BIGGS (it was his 34th birthday) had to rouse the driver to continue the journey.
In the front two carriages frightened post office staff were pushed to one end by some of the fifteen strong gang - but, in the remaining ten carriages (left at Sears Crossing) staff did not even realise anything had happened.
At Bridego Bridge a human chain of robbers removed 120 sacks containing 2 ½ tons of money.
The rest is history:thumb
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/article-1181525-003D0D6A00000258-53_468x308.jpg
8 August 1963. The 'Up' TPO in the daylight! Still at the place where the Robbery took place hours before.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/016.jpg
26 August 2010, Bridego Bridge No.127 trees obscure part of the bridge where the mail bags were thrown down, but the telephone pole still survives, so that a good comparison can be found:thumb
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/Great_Train_244836a.jpg
Detectives from the 'Met' police arrived in the afternoon to take charge. The local 'Plod' did not have the resources available in such a rural area.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/003.jpg
The same site today
After the police had finished with the train it was moved on to Cheddington Station and shunted onto the old Aylesbury branch line platform, where further investigations were carried out.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/storyfdde9739a50289fcb859bb02333f4269.jpg
The train sits in Chedddington station. 8/8/63
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/024.jpg
The same location today near as possible by the building on the right.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/U1390498H.jpg
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/U1390498H.jpg
The robbed mail coach sits at Cheddington station, with a police guard. This photo was taken from the footbridge.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/019.jpg
The same location today:thumb Taken from the footbridge the curve of the original platform has been cut back somewhat and is now fenced off:smile
Thanks for looking:thumb
More photos here:
http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/tankman_2008/GREAT%20TRAIN%20ROBBERY%20-%20revisited/?start=all