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irwingcommand — Nineteens together
Published: 2010-05-06 14:42:01 +0000 UTC; Views: 539; Favourites: 16; Downloads: 0
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Description
LNER A4 Class 4-6-2 no 60019 Bitternat Manchester Piccadilly next to 390019 'Virgin warrior'
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Comments: 9
In 1935, race between both the LMS on the west coast and the LNER on the east coast to create a fleet of high speed steam locomotives began. The ultimate winners were the LMS Princess Coronation Class and the LNER A4 Class. The A4 Class set the principle for high speed rail for the future to follow, and the future followed by producing high power, streamlined units and locomotives.
Shots like this need to be taken to display how things have evolved over time. The Pendolino is just one of a latest generation of high power streamlined intercity trains, and here when positioned alongside the locomotive type which kicked it all off, the similarities between designs are really very striking. This angle captures this fact and displays it nicely to the viewer, and the fact the photo is sharp, bright and clear assists in this notion. Composure and alignment are both good, it all adds up to a simple, but classic image. Progress...
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What first struck me about this photo is the expanse of the bright airy train shed. I remember these vistas from childhood, from stations like Leeds, York and St Pancras. Having lived in North America for most of my life now I have come to appreciate this type of architecture. Compare this to most typical north American train stations - dark, cramped dysfunctional dungeons. Some are not so bad. Some are unbelievable monuments to completely people-hostile design, like New York's Penn Station for example (don't ever go there if you have more than a small light backpack!). So seeing images like this really is a source of nostalgia, good memories and inspiration. The engineers who designed the grand stations of Europe really understood that the working part of the station, where people actually board and disembark trains, needed the most careful design and a sense of grandiosity. Now to see these two examples of elegant and finctional design side by side is a real treat for the eyes!
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Thanks for the huge comment 
Although Manchester Piccadilly has always has a light and airy Platform area, this roof was completely renovated in 2002 to give visitors to the commonwealth games a better first impression of the city, So the white paint is a 21St Century addition.
I have spent an hour looking for old pictures of the station to show you, but have come up empty
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Re: my comment; you're welcome! I vaguely remember Manchester Picadilly from almost 40 years ago. The recent overhaul of the train shed roof is hard to see. The iron work looks vintage but now that you mention it I can see new paint. It would be interesting to see some old pics. From time to time I surf the web looking for old BR nostalgia, for example closed lines and stations. Very interesting.
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Nice picture.
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Good to see them face-on, it let's us appreciate the streamline, modern version for what it really is...efficient and not much else.
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The plastic pendo's really have nothing, compared to this kind of beauty.
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Trust bloody Virgin. They have to be in on the action !
I think I would have cropped it really harshly, and got rid of that ugly thing. The one on the left I mean Colin
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