Taken from the footbridge just south of the London Tilbury and Southend Railway station at Purfleet, painting of the wooden gates is in progress -look at the drips and splashes! However note that the iron railings, surely railway property, have been left untouched, perhaps they are due repairs to their mangled end before they too receive a repaint. The wharf belongs to Cory's coal merchants but the cranes on their own pier don't seem too well employed by the late spring of 1959 and there are very few wagons in their yard. The shed for their own shunter still stands, doors tightly closed seen just above the conical water tank - a very untypical Midland devise that does not show on the 1939 OS map but has appeared by 1952, so it was probably a wartime upgrade.
It is hard to imagine now but vast quantities of coal came by vessel from the North East of England to London and much would be off-loaded at similar establishments on the Thames. The large industrial sheds to the top right of the scene are paper mills, but are not connected to the wharf, having their own off-loading facilities and a barge loaded with paper pulp cn be seen. Note the BR Drewry shunter in the yard headshunt behind the box and the off duty bobby about to start his scooter - is it a Vespa?
The signals are pure Midland and the trespass notice by the crossing will be headed up Midland Railway with LTS Section in small writing on the second line. The back gardens are interesting, note the amount of flimsy wood fencing no more than 3 foot tall, so different to that used today.