Sandy in Bedforshire is where, for a short distance, the former L&NWR Bedford to Cambridge 'Varsity' route (closed in 1968) and the GNR lines that are now part of the ECML run in parallel for about half a mile but do not connect. Both companies had separate but adjacent stations with a shared island platform, this is now merged into one station. A smart ex-GNR Gresley 'K2' 2-6-0 No. 4659 heads north away from Sandy on May Day in 1937 with a freight mostly consisting of empties. The LNWR lines are on the far right. 4659 was built at Doncaster in Dec. 1916 as GNR No. 1659 and was withdrawn in January 1959 as BR No. 61749.

© Les Hanson-David Hanson Archive