Navvy Collection (page 3)

Tunnelling shield (chromolitho)
977647 Tunnelling shield (chromolitho) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Tunnelling shield)

Steam powered Excavating Machine, aka Steam Navvy, at Beamish Museum, Beamish, County Durham, 18th August 1970. Designed for lifting and moving material such as rock and soil

Fleet-Street, deepening the sewer, 1845. Creator: Unknown
Fleet-Street, deepening the sewer, 1845. Workers improving the underground waste system in London, with Temple Bar in the distance....the difficulty of keeping open the traffic

Navvy
London characters : if the streets of London were paved with gold, the navigator (NAVVY) would find it, for he spends his life digging them up and filling them in again. Date: circa 1870

Diving-Bell Used in the Construction of the Thames Tunnel, (c1878). Creator: Unknown
Diving-Bell Used in the Construction of the Thames Tunnel, (c1878). Diving bell being used to plug a hole in the bottom of the River Thames

Railway line near Wandsworth Station, London, 1838. Artist: JR Jobbins
Railway line near Wandsworth Station, London, 1838. View showing navvies working on the line. Possibly the Surrey Iron Railway, a narrow guage railway that opened in 1805

View of construction work at St Katherines Dock, Stepney, London, January, 1828. The docks opened in October 1828. They were the only major project to be undertaken in London by the famous engineer

Excavation work for the north pier and tidal dam at Blackfriars Bridge, London, 1864. The new Blackfriars Bridge was designed by Joseph cubitt and opened in 1869

Demolition work being carried out on Blackfriars Bridge from the Surrey shore, London, 1864. The first Blackfriars Bridge built by Robert Mylne in the 1760s was replaced by a new crossing designed by

Demolition work being carried out on Blackfriars Bridge, 1864. Artist: George Maund
Demolition work being carried out on Blackfriars Bridge, 1864. The first Blackfriars Bridge built by Robert Mylne in the 1760s was replaced by a new crossing designed by Joseph Cubitt

Oxford in the Future, or the New Freshman, 1865. Artist: John Tenniel
Oxford in the Future, or the New Freshman, 1865. The Navvy says Gallon O Audit Ale, Guv nor, Please. Is got I Blunt to Pay Vor n The Liberal MP, Lord Palmerston

The Street Up Again!, 1859. The defeat of Disraelis Reform Bill in March 1862 brought down Lord Derbys Conservative Government

Toddington Station under construction, and navvy camp, 1904
An atmospheric view of Toddington Station under construction in Gloucestershire in 1904, showing the shanty town-like navvy camp

Helmer Osslund Navvy Banworkers painting 1920
Helmer Osslund, Navvy, Banworkers, painting, 1920, Oil on butter paper mounted on cardboard, Height, 45.5 cm (17.9 inches), Width, 31.5 cm (12.4 inches)

Laying a railway track near Lima, Ohio, USA
Men at work laying a railway track near Lima, Ohio, USA, with a field of wheat in the foreground. Date: circa 1900

Partly finished battlefield road at Flanders 1917
Second Battle of Flanders: Troops in the front are capturing positions and beating off counter attacks night and day. While the temporary lulls of infantry fighting between each thrust forward

British soldiers at work, Western Front, France, WW1
British soldiers at work on the Western Front in France during World War One. They are army navvies, recycling bricks from a ruined building to construct roads. Date: circa 1917

London Railway under Construction
A group of navvies working on an elevated section of an inner London railway. Date: 19th century

From the Pacific to the Atlantic Along the Route of the Panama Canal, 1883: 1
FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC ALONG THE ROUTE OF THE PANAMA CANAL, 1883: 1. City of Panama, the Pacific End of the Canal (The Cross Shows the Mouth of the Canal). 2. Last Glimpse of Panama. 3

Barnum & Bailey poster depicting the destruction of the Spanish Fleet by the United States Navvy, off Cuba 1898

Brtish troops breaking stones, Flanders, WW1
British troops breaking stones for road making around the time of the Battle of Broodseinde, Flanders, during the First World War. circa 1917

GWR line at Treffgarne, Pembrokeshire, South Wales
View of the Great Western Railway line at the Treffgarne cutting, Nant Y Coy, Pembrokeshire, Dyfed, South Wales. The navvy hut can be seen on the left

GWR navvies at Ferryside, Carmarthenshire, South Wales
A group of Great Western Railway navvies straightening the track at Ferryside, Carmarthenshire, South Wales

GWR locomotive, Treffgarne, Pembrokeshire, South Wales
Four railway workers with a Great Western Railway locomotive, Amesbury, at Treffgarne, Nant Y Coy, Pembrokeshire, Dyfed, South Wales

Laying railway track
Gangs of railway labourers work on the laying of a new section of track running beneath a bridge. The lamps held by the navvies cast spectral traces of light across the gloomy atmospheric scene

Track laying - using a bulldozer
A Caterpillar bulldozer being operated during track laying by the Wimpey construction company. Nightime engineering works. Photograph by Heinz Zinram

Laying railway tracks at night
A very atmospheric shot of a steam engine and cranes aiding the laying of a new set of railway tracks. Photograph by Heinz Zinram

Steam navvy used to make the new dock at Swansea. By the late nineteenth century, chores traditionally done by workmen were being performed by steam engines

Rail Construction 1836
An extensive team of navvies build a retaining wall near Part Street, Camden Town, London

Digging a Rail Cutting
The construction of the Tring Cutting. Railway navvies dig out the earth and rock by hand with the spoil lifted up to the top of the bank by horse- powered winches

Costume / Navvy
A London navvy wearing a white smock, peaked cap & stout boots, smokes his pipe as he digs a ditch. A lantern alerts passersby to mind the hole

Navvy (Petherick)
London characters : if the streets of London were paved with gold, the navigator ( NAVVY ) would find it, for he spends his life digging them up and filling them in again

Machines / Steam Navvy
STEAM NAVVY Excavation machine used in making a new dock in Swansea

Opening of the Thames Tunnel
A picture to commemorate the opening of the Thames Tunnel, connecting Rotherhithe and Wapping, showing the company medallion featuring Sir Marc Isambard Brunel supported by one of the tunnels

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"Unsung Heroes of the Railway: The Mighty Navvies" Step back in time with this captivating illustration from W Heath Robinson's "Railway Ribaldry, " showcasing the indomitable spirit of navvies. These hardworking laborers, like those seen here in Treffgarne, Pembrokeshire, South Wales during the construction of St Pancras Station in London circa 1867, were instrumental in shaping our modern transportation system. Their tireless efforts can be witnessed through remarkable discoveries such as fossilized trees unearthed during railway cutting works. Take a glimpse into history with John Cooke Bourne's artwork capturing Tring cutting on the London & Birmingham Railway on June 17th, 1837 (1839). These dedicated GWR navvies left an enduring mark on landscapes across South Wales while working tirelessly to lay down railway lines. The image of a steam shovel alongside these determined individuals further emphasizes their crucial role. Witness how they transformed mere blueprints into reality as they built railway lines throughout the UK during the early 1900s. Their unwavering commitment and expertise were not limited to railways alone; even at Festival of Britain building sites in London, these men continued to shape our nation's infrastructure. Let us pay tribute to these unsung heroes - the mighty navvies who worked relentlessly behind-the-scenes - ensuring that generations could travel seamlessly across vast distances. Their legacy lives on within every rail we traverse today.