Where is this and what is the stock?

The photo is taken west of Gloucester Road station, the building with the flat roof was Cromwell Road signal box.

I suggested it was a dive under because on first impression that is what it looked like to me. Looking again, I'm not so sure, although the two furthest tracks are on different levels.

My uncle was living in Prince Consort Road at the time, I did have a feeling the photo was in the South Ken/Gloucester Road area.

The building in the foreground is indeed Cromwell Road signal cabin, opened in 1936. The Cromwell Road passes above the railway.

This is at the junction where the line to/from High Street Kensington diverges in the background - eastbound line furthest away with the westbound line being a flyunder.

The tracks nearest the camera are the eastbound and westbound District Line to/from Gloucester Road.

The driving motor car is a Q31 (L) or Q35 (M) car - these had different side window arrangements to the Q27 (K) Stock and the 'openings' were different too. All the L and M motor cars were converted to trailers between 1947 and 1956

I have to admit that I am a bit confused by what appears to be the last car of a District line train going away from the photographer and turning off to the right. If the District line train is heading towards Gloucester Road and the two tracks on the left are to / from High Street Kensington, then presumably Earl's Court station is somewhere behind the photographer - ?

As I make it the photographer is facing in a SW direction. The two tracks furthest away are going towards Earls Court and the train is heading towards High Street Kensington. A Waitrose supermarket has now been built over the tracks making a comparison photo impossible today.

Not in 1956 for the BEA (British European Airways) operated Routemasters.

They came a number of years later, the prototype Routemasters (RM1, RM2, RML3 and CRL4) were only just entering service around that time. The Airport Routemasters did not enter service until about 1967, and were withdrawn in stages from 1975, when the Cromwell Road Air Terminal closed for redeveopment into a supermarket and other uses!

Before them were a fleet of 'deck and a half' coaches based on the AEC Regal chassis, and before them single/deck and a half coaches on the C class bus (Cub?) chassis.

Before the Park Royal 4RF4 deck-and-a-halfs, BEA had Commer Commandos as did BOAC [who had their Victoria terminal].

I remember the 4RF4s well, as pre-M4 they operated from the West London Air Terminal down the A4, Great West Road, then Bath Road to get to London Airport Central. BEA invested in the two batches of RMs, but BOAC went for Daimler Fleetlines. These were serviced/washed at Hounslow Garage (AV) for a time whilst the RMs were at the former Chiswick Trolleybus Depot, near Turnham Green bus garage.

Wasn't the WLAT turned into an hotel after vacation by BEA?

'Chiswick trolleybus depot'.

No, it was Chiswick TRAM Depot, apologies! It was later Stamford Brook Garage. I used to have a peak inside when I passed it.

WLAT opened 6th October 1957. It seems it shut in spring 1984.

I am, though, still a bit puzzled about what appears to be the fly-under line. The only fly-under in the current Earl's Court / High St. Ken. / Gloucester Road layout is the one that takes the line from High St. Ken. round to Earl's Court. That's also the only fly-under that is shown on the two Cromwell Road area diagrams (for 1936 and 1957 - 1966) that are on Harsig's website. All of the other junctions are flat crossings. The fly-under doesn't fit with that which is shown in the photograph. I'm wondering whether, at the time the photograph was taken, the general layout of the area was rather different - ?

The actual diveunder is off to the left. As I noticed from my last visit to Earls Court (last Sunday) the approach ramp for the diveunder runs parallel to the westbound HSK line, and then swings across under the "main" line. Approaching trains descending the ramp can be seen from the w/b platform at Earls Court



The sun is shining from the left of the picture, (almost parallel to the bridge parapet) this means the sun is shining from the west if we are looking north as I believe, or the south east if we are looking SW.

Just noticed that above the left hand span of the bridge there is a refuge in the centre of the road, suggesting it's quite wide, and also what appears to be a bus stop on the nearer side of the road. This all supports Cromwell Road as the likely location.

Unless the picture has been flipped, this can't be the tunnel immediately to the west of Gloucester Road (i.e. the SE corner of the Triangle). The skew of the bridge is back to front for that. And I don't think there was ever a diveunder at that point - the northern tunnel (which now carries the eastbound line) was the original Metropolitan Railway between HSK and GLR (both tracks) and the other tunnel (which now carries both westbound lines (District and Circle) was the iriginal MDR. The junction between District and Circle was immidately to the east of South Kensington.

This is, I'm sure, the SW corner of the Triangle, where there is no "used to" about the pairs of lines - there have always been two to/from GLR, two to/from HSK ("from" being at a lower level than "to" at this point).

The layout of the whole area is shown here - the modern building in the foreground is probably Cromwell Road signal box, and the entrance to the diveunder tunnel just out of shot to the left.

Having been stumped at first as to the exact location, i have to agree with norbitonflyer in post #17.

The bridge still exists as seen in the photo but is now covered by the Marriot Hotel. A picture cannot be taken as it's too dark.

For those of you still convinced it's the bridge nearest to Gloucester Road, here is the current view:
tinyurl.com/3gnuugc

I've tried zooming in on the original picture I've got on my computer but it seems to be too far in under the bridge and with the quality of the picture when it is blown up I'm unable to say whether it is a door or not.

I've done a bit of cropping of the image focusing on the train, I don't think I can make it any clearer.

bit.ly/g9dRfN

Just to settle this once and for all, this is a map of the site in the 1950s:



The photo seems to have been taken from the rear of one of the buildings in Collingham Place.