View from the bridge

Image: © Ian Dodds Taken: 17 Mar 2023

The reason the railway lines diverge is that until the famous closures of the 1960s there was a railway station in the middle - Newington. The steps leading down to it from the bridge in the distance can still be seen. The ramshackle structure to the right of the track is used for building stage props amongst other similar things. It went up around 1900 and was presumably a little more sturdy then - only the floors and gable ends look to be original, giving it a fittingly 'make do and mend' appearance. It is unclear why trains (the track is still in occasional use, mostly for freight) need/needed to be warned about sand on the line. Research did though unearth an unexpected sand/railway link - a coded tannoy announcement is sometimes made on the railway network, and particularly on the London Underground, asking for Inspector Sands to come to such and such a place This means that a fire alarm has gone off somewhere, most probably by accident, but obviously needs quickly investigated. In fact it turns out there are quite a few secret announcements at stations - cleaners are alerted to the presence of various things that need attended to on the platforms, and there are special codes for blood and vomit in order that they bring the right chemicals.

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