Navvy Collection (page 4)

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.