The LNER Encyclopedia

Sorry everyone, but I think this is a fairly unique shot:

August 1923: A mirror helps the signalman looking down the old Great Eastern line from Stratford Central station. The view from the signalbox was obscured by the waiting room roof and chimney stacks. The Channelsea curve is on the right, giving connections to the North London Railway at Victoria Park, and the Cambridge main line near Loughton Branch Junction. The N7 0-8-2T reflected in the mirror is one of those built at Stratford to AJ Hill's design, while in the background a B12 and a tank engine - possibly a J69 0-6-0T - stand alongside trains of very mixed empty stock. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Malcolm

Watto Malcolm,

It's amazing what you can run past when doing a light engine link round the site's minor branches.

Thanks for posting this,

421

Can you imagine that mirror staying in one piece nowadays?

Ferrybridge Flyer wrote:Can you imagine that mirror staying in one piece nowadays?

Well, yes as it happens. Don't some of the stations on the Euston - Watford d.c. line (now part of Lorol) have large mirrors as part of the driver only operation (passenger) a.k.a. DOO(P) equipment?

Nice one!I didn't know that.

'Reflective surfaces' might be a better description, they are not uncommon in the south but ones I've seen don't appear to be made of glass like real mirrors. It looks more like they are made of bright metal sheets. There is quite noticeable distortion of the view, but good enough for drivers/guards to see whether the train doors have closed properly.

hq1hitchin wrote:

Ferrybridge Flyer wrote:Can you imagine that mirror staying in one piece nowadays?

Well, yes as it happens. Don't some of the stations on the Euston - Watford d.c. line (now part of Lorol) have large mirrors as part of the driver only operation (passenger) a.k.a. DOO(P) equipment?

Those once provided at Knebworth for DOO working seem to have vanished in more recent years. Not sure why, unless drivers of more modern units look out of the cab-side window before closing doors (crossing the cab to do so where necessary) ?