Stationmaster Dating Please

[verezzi]

Hello,

One of my relatives Edwin Stabler was station master at North Wylam station from 1900-1922. We have a blurry photo of him on the left on the platform from 1908- attached. If anyone can help, I am looking for the two different photos to be dated to see if he might be on them as our original image of him was quite blurry. It does look like he might be the man in the middle in the bottom picture and stood on the platform again in the other.

Thanks for reading,

Dan

[Treetotal]

They all look to be taken roughly about the same era, Edwardian.
Carol

[arthurk]

I once came across a website which described the styles of uniform of different grades of railway personnel. I'm afraid I can't remember where it was, but it did imply that station masters had a distinctive coat and possibly cap. There would have been some variations between different railway companies.

Based on this, the man in the middle in the second photo looks to be dressed the same way as your Edwin, and thus a station master - and as far as I can tell, he looks rather like him too.

I'm not too sure about the other one. The most important chap is surely the one front right on the edge of the platform, but he's dressed differently. Different style for summer and winter? I think all three photos are probably of much the same date. (Carol said this too while I was writing.)

Incidentally, the two photos that you're asking about can also be found on the Heddon-on-the-Wall Local History Society's website at http://heddonhistory.weebly.com/blog/north-wylam-railway-station  Maybe the person who posted them might know more about them?

[tonepad]

The third photo is taken at a different time to the 1908 photo, as the trellis arch is more covered in plants in the third photo.


Tony

[verezzi]

Thank you so much for the replies, I have had a look at the website and will see if I can message them. My cousin probably got the pictures there in the first place, he sent them to me as pictures of "Wylam Station" because I am updating a family booklet on Edwin but it struck me that we might have a clearer picture of Edwin here and it looks like we do, he was there 22 years ( I got his 1921 Census this morning too which places him there, he started 1900 and left 1922 for Catterick Station) Since he was there throughout the Edwardian period and post war and bearing in mind the gentleman's likeness, uniform and prominence (as station master?) in the photos, I think it is him. Thank you so much for the replies and thoughts. Hugely appreciated!