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Lille (French pronunciation: [lil]; Dutch: Rijsel) is a city in northern France (French Flanders). It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium. It is the capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais region and the prefecture of the Nord department. Between 4–13 October 1914, the troops in Lille were able to trick the enemy by convincing them that Lille possessed more artillery than was the case; in reality, the city had only a single cannon. Despite the deception, the German bombardments destroyed over 2,200 buildings and homes. When the Germans realised they had been tricked, they burned down an entire section of town, subsequently occupying the city. Lille was liberated by the British on 17 October 1918, when General Sir William Birdwood and his troops were welcomed by joyous crowds. The general was made an honorary citizen of the city of Lille on 28 October of that year.

Lille in ruins, 1916:

Thanks trialsanderrors for providing the Wikipedia link; we'll fill in the caption information the next time we update. And thanks Wystan for deciphering the date on the negative. We'll also add that information.

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called australian steam locomotives, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

my father worked in places like this in 1920's salute a tutti.Nick D.P.

The clock on the station says 3.55pm, but there are no passengers to be seen, just railway staff staring at the camera, and enough locomotives to delight any trainspotter. Very odd! The original second station (on the left) was a very handsome neo-classical temple.

Locomotive No.1 (centre of photo) is now in the Powerhouse Museum. Full details and heaps of photos: www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=19352 I see from the blurb (there is a lot of information there) that this locomotive "was withdrawn from service in 1877 after 22 years of operation, having travelled 155 667 miles (250 468 km)". Which suggests that this photo is earlier than 1877 (No.1 looks in great condition here), much earlier than most of the Tyrrell Collection. I hope the experts at the Powerhouse Museum know about this photo!

Locomotive No.7 in 1865 (!) with similar carriages: www.flickr.com/photos/state-records-nsw/2798269301/