Stations and Halts Gallery

Platform 1 at Paddington Station, 1904

This view of passengers boarding a train on Platform 1 was taken on the August Bank Holiday 1904.
Teeming with people, passengers and porters bustle about the platform by the clock at the First Class end of the train before it departs

© STEAM Museum of the GWR

1900s, 1904, August, Bank Holiday, Boarding, Edwardian, Paddington, Passengers, People, Platform, Platform 1, Station

GWR station staff member in a gas mask, c.1939

During an air raid the threat of poison gas bombs being dropped by the German Luftwaffe was extremely high. Mustard gas was the most deadly gas available and could take up to 12 hours to take effect. 38 million gas masks were distributed in Britain to protect against any ill effects should gas bombs be dropped. After an air raid GWR staff would continue their normal duties, but in some instances would continue to wear their gas masks. This image shows a porter at Paddington Station wearing his mask. It must have been difficult to carry out normal tasks with limited visibility and restricted movement

Swindon Town Station

Swindon Town Station was on the Midland and South Western Junction Railway in Swindon's Old Town area. The impressive main offices of the railway company can be seen in the centre of this image. The station was in operation for only 85 years after facing increasing competition from the town's GWR station and as the focus of the town moved away from the Old Town area to Swindon's ?new town which had developed around the GWR station and railway works