Passing Through Darnall

Image: © Martin Addison Taken: 29 Jan 1977

Class 47, 47447 brings a passenger service through Darnall station. Behind the locomotive are the houses on Poole Place. In turn, these are over-shadowed by the Davy-Loewy works and offices on Prince of Wales Road. Much has changed since this image was taken in the late 1970's. The station has lost its buildings and the overhead 1500v DC wires and catenary. The slow lines on either side of the island platform have been removed, reducing the line to just 2 tracks rather than 4. Davy-Loewy (originally Davy Bros) once manufactured heavy engineering items such as steel rolling mills. They were also involved in the manufacture of the Thames Barrier. The company (by then named Davy-McKee) fell on hard times at the end of the 1980's and large scale redundancies occurred in 1991. The company's office block is now available as rented office accommodation - marketed as 722, its address on Prince of Wales Road. The factory buildings remain in use and there is still a Davy presence in the form of Davy Markham who still manufacture heavy engineering items.

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