These are the two LSWR stations at Salisbury and which are still in operational use. Unfortunately I didn't have time to nip round to photograph Brunel's GWR station. The ragged looking canopies are currently in the process of being renovated.
© David Meaden


This is the original LSWR building.








This is the newer LSWR building.














Not a great picture but apparently the tank and associated buildings were part of the GWR station.


At first I thought this was one of the old signal boxes ………………


especially having stairs up to the first floor ………………….


but it has house style windows! Does anyone know what it was?

More information on Salisbury here -
http://www.semgonline.com/location/salisbury_01.html
Apparently the building was originally used by the LSWR for storing hot water bottles, presumably in the days before train heating was invented! Latterly it was used by carriage maintenance staff.  Looks like it's a listed structure as in one of the pictures it's surrounded by scaffolding and is being restored.
It was never a signal box though, the Southern having east and west boxes at each ends of the platform and the GWR box being more or less opposite this building.

Thanks for the info and the website link Robert. I would never have guessed at it being for hot water bottles. As such it must be something of a rarity.
Regards
David

I doubt very much it was a rarity.  The water bottles were, in fact, foot warmers and were common on the early railways.

Salisbury was the scene of a very serious derailment in 1906, due to a curve being taken at high speed.  In view of the recent accident in Spain, it just proves there's nothing new under the Sun.

Terry