This remarkable photograph from the Collection of Eddie Johnson shows a Midland Railway steam locomotive, with railwaymen, and was taken some time in the 1880s. The image provides a detailed glimpse into a lost age: The engine looks pristine, right down to the crest above the wheel. The photo has remarkable detail. The blurred eyes of the man on the right tell us this was a long exposure. Read the authoritative description by Eddie Johnson.

From 1876 until 1903 Samuel Waite Johnson was the Locomotive Engineer of the Midland Railway. Based at the company’s headquarters in Derby, Johnson had a fine artistic style and the steam locomotives he designed are some of the most beautiful ever to run on a British railway. At first the Midland’s engines were painted in a light green colour, but from 1880 this gave way to a rich maroon known as “Crimson Lake”.

The colour was applied to all Midland engines, both passenger and freight, and was enhanced by gold lining and a rich complement of polished brass. But all this was applied in a day and age far removed from our own when labour was cheap and hours were long, something that made it relatively easy for the company’s engines to appear in spotless condition. The shed at Cornbrook, close to the Bridgewater canal, was supplanted by a later depot at Trafford Park, close to Manchester United’s “Theatre of Dreams”.

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Keywords: railways, railway archive, trains, steam train images, steam trains