Godalming Station, Surrey, c1913

Godalming Station, Surrey, c1913. Godalming Station seems relatively unchanged in the last hundred years. Postcard by W. H. Applebee. Click the postcard to enlarge.
For more old images have a look at the Sepia Saturday blog.

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Wimbledon Station 1907

Merry Christmas from Postcards Then and Now. My first postcard, by Young & Co of Teddington, shows an effigy put up by Wimbledon's cabmen in Christmas 1907. He appears to be dressed as a cabman. At the top on his umbrella are the words 'driven from home' and the bottom of the postcard says 'cabmen's only shelter'. I would hazard a guess that the cabmen were being evicted from their shelter, but I do not have any definite information about this other than the postcard. The second postcard, of Wimbledon Station, shows what I think is the cab shelter - the small hut on the left. This postcard is not from my collection and is only displayed in low resolution. The third postcard, again by Young & Co and shows the station again and the cabmen. I suspect this was taken at the same time as the effigy postcard. Notice the dog begging on the left. The Google Street View shows the approximate location today. As always click the postcards to enlarge.
For more Christmas themed old pictures have a ook at the Sepia Saturday blog.

 

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Sunningdale, Berkshire, The Station c1911

Sunningdale, Berkshire, The Station circa 1911. Sunningdale Station has changed considerably since the top postcard was photographed by Young & Co in about 1911. Underneath the Google Street View is a postcard published by W. H. Applebee (from an earlier Young & Co negative) that shows the exterior of the station at around the same time. It is difficult to pinpoint this on the Google Street View. Have a go yourself, using the other postcard and its corresponding Google Street View as reference points!
Click the postcards to enlarge.

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Southall, Middlesex, The Iron Bridge c1912

Southall, Middlesex, The Iron Bridge c1912. The Iron Bridge in Southall was built to carry the Great Western Railway. Postcards by W. H. Applebee of Ashford and Wakefields of Brentford. The Wakefields postcard is looking in the opposite direction. Click the postcards to enlarge.
For more old pictures have a look at the Sepia Saturday blog.

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Chippenham, Wiltshire, The Bridge c1910

Chippenham, Wiltshire, The Bridge circa 1910. Chippenham is a town in Wiltshire. In the distance we can see the railway viaduct built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Railway. Postcard by Young & Co of Teddington. Click the postcard to enlarge.

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Belmont, Surrey, Station Road c1910

Belmont, Surrey, Station Road circa 1910. Belmont is a village in the London Borough of Sutton in southwest London. Note the curious three-wheeled vehicle. Postcard by S&W. Click the postcard to enlarge.

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Chatham, Kent, Film Promotion Postcards c1931

Chatham, Kent, Film Promotion Postcards c1931. This is a postcard showing a promotion for the 1931 film 'The Champ' starring Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper, which was showing at the Picture House, Chatham. It was taken just next to Chatham railway station. Obviously, that's not the real Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper being carried aloft. The men doing the carrying don't seem to be too pleased.

Below the Google Street View showing Chatham station today is another postcard from Chatham, this time promoting the 1931 film 'Penrod and Sam', starring Leon Janne and Frank Coghlan Jr. I haven't managed to find the location of this one on Google Street View, perhaps an eagle-eyed reader can assist.

For more old pictures visit this week's Sepia Saturday blog. Click the postcards to enlarge.

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Fleet, Hampshire, Station Approach c1913

Fleet, Hampshire, Station Approach circa 1913. The scene looks quite different now, though the layout is essentially the same. The Station Hotel referred to on the left is now called 'The Links Hotel'. It looks like the woman is about to pay the cab driver. Postcard by W. H. Applebee of Ashford. Click the postcard to enlarge.

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Nottingham, Midland Station c1912

Nottingham, Midland Station circa 1912. This postcard shows the third Nottingham Midland Station, built in 1903. The postcard was published by a publisher who signed themselves 'C. A.'. It was posted to an address in Roslindale, Massachusetts, USA in 1913. For more old pictures visit the Sepia Saturday blog. Click the postcard to enlarge.

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Earlsfield Station, South West London, c1910

Earlsfield Station, South West London, circa 1910. Earlsfield Station appears to have changed little in the last hundred years. The modest entrance is out of sight in the top postcard, it is actually just past the bridges. The station has very recently had a make-over and a lift to the platforms has been added. Postcard by a local publisher who signed the back 'J.H.E' (I suspect J.H.E. is the shop on the left of the picture). Underneath the Google Street View is a view of the station platforms with a train passing through, posted in December 1908. Finally, a view of the station from the other side of the bridges, showing the entrance, published by Keystone Art Co of Norwood in about 1910. For more old photographs visit Sepia Saturday.
As always, click the postcards to enlarge.

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London, Chiswick Park and Acton Green Station, c1908

London, Chiswick Park and Acton Green Station, circa 1908. The station was run by the Metropolitan District Railway (now the District Line). In 1910 the station was renamed to the simpler Chiswick Park. In 1931 the station was rebuilt to a modern design by Charles Holden. Although the modern Google Street View does not flatter the building, its clean lines are more pleasing than the Victorian original. Postcard published by Young & Co of Teddington. For more old photographs please visit Sepia Saturday. As always, click the picture to enlarge.

Camberley, Surrey, Railway Accident 1907

Camberley, Surrey, Railway Accident 1907. In 1907 a Class T1 0-4-4-T locomotive of the LSWR (London & South Western Railway)  slipped down the embankment at Park Street. I don't think anyone was hurt. The locomotive looks very incongruous in this setting. The Google Street View shows the location of the accident today. These postcards were published by the prolific postcard publishers Gale and Polden. One of the postcards has been posted but the sender makes no mention of the scene on the front, they only enquire if the recipient's cold is better.
For more old photographs please visit Sepia Saturday. As always, click the pictures to enlarge!

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South-West London, Merton Park, Kingston Road Level Crossing c1908

South-West London, Merton Park, Kingston Road Level Crossing circa 1908. The signal box has gone now, giving us an uninterrupted view of the White Hart pub. The railway line shown on the postcard is now used by Tramlink. Tramlink runs on a mixture of street track shared with other traffic, dedicated track in public roads, off-street track and former railway lines. Postcard published by Young & Co of Teddington. Click to enlarge.

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Walthamstow, St James Street, North East London, c1912

Walthamstow, St James Street, North East London, c1912. The modern Street View is surprisingly similar.

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Valenciennes, France, The Station 1919

A change of location for today's post. Valenciennes is in the far north of France, close to the Belgian border. It was occupied by the German army in 1914 and was finally liberated by British and Canadian troops in 1918. The town suffered heavy bombardment. They've done a good job restoring the station. I recently bought a small collection of photographic postcards showing Valenciennes in 1919. I'll display more of them here soon if there's any interest and provided that I can match the locations to Google Streetview.

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Detail from the Valenciennes Station postcard, click to enlarge. I think this makes a great picture in its own right:

St. John's Hill, Battersea, South West London c1910

St. John's Hill, Battersea. The scene looks so much more lively and vibrant than it does today. On the left, the old entrance to Clapham Junction station. Curiously, Clapham Junction is in Battersea, not Clapham. The station used to claim to be the busiest in the world. It is now arguably the busiest in Europe, though only in terms of the amount of trains that pass through it, not the number of passengers that use the station (or rather 'customers' as South West Trains prefers to call us now). On the right you can see the magnificent Clapham Grand Theatre, still in use as a music venue and club. The tower in the distance is Arding and Hobbs department store (now Debenhams), rebuilt after a terrrible fire in 1909. Postcard by Sidney Smith.

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Horsham, Sussex, North Street & Railway Station c1913

North Street Horsham today:

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Gunnersbury Station c1907

The station has changed a lot over the years. Postcard by Young & Co of Teddington. Click here for modern Streetview. Gunnersbury is in West London, near Ealing.

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Liphook Station, Hampshire c1912

The station looks remarkably similar now. Click here for Streetview.

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Dorking Station and Star & Garter Hotel c1908

Photo by Young & Co of Teddington. 

Dorking Star and Garter today:

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