Title - Temple Mills Marshalling Yard - Modernisation - progress by Great Eastern.
Location - Temple Mills, Newham/Waltham Forest/Hackney, London, England.
Artist - Frederick Donald Blake (1908-1997).
Description - The 1950s Modernisation Scheme was a huge unertaking for the whole railway system, and a variety of posters were produced to show the public some of the changes which were taking place around them. This poster is a combination of a lot of information in a very detailed plan, and a rather nice painting of the very industrial scene of the huge railway marshalling yard itself, with the hump control box in the centre. To the right is an early blue diesel locomotive pulling a train away from the yard. The area had a long railway history, dating back to early Great Eastern Railways days with a yard and wagon works.
At the time of the poster, 1958, this was the peak of international modernity in freight handling and the largest yard in Britain, but by 1982 it had been completely superseded and was closed.
Year Published - 1958
Size - Quad Royal (approx 50 x 40in or 127 x 101.5cm)
Other Details:
Original Vintage British Railways Travel Poster.
Published by British Railways (Eastern Region) (PP 1179A)
Printed in Great Britain by Waterlow & Sons Limited, London and Dunstable.
Condition Grade and Condition Report:
Grade: A-, un-conserved.
Folds only. More detailed photos are available on request if required.
More About The Artist:
Frederick Donald Blake was a member of the Royal Institute and the Royal Society of Marine Artists. He was born in Scotland, and moved to London as a child. He was foremost a painter, but also worked for the Ministry of Information during the war, and for the aircraft and railway industries and on road safety campaigns after the war.
