Mortimer Station

Going through some papers in my Dad's office a few weeks ago, I came across a large format negative sandwiched between the pages of a book. I couldn't make out much detail in the negative and it was only later when I scanned it that I was able to see it was a photograph of the railway station in nearby Mortimer. It's not an original photographic negative (the materials used in the 19th Century were very different to the conventional photographic films of today), rather it looks like a copy of an original print.

Mortimer Station was built in 1848, part of the Great Western Railway network, the station buildings were designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The vintage photograph shows the roof of the far platform waiting room (on the right of the image) still being completed so I guess that this image might be from 1848/1849. Photography only became viable in 1839 so it's really a very early photographic image. It could be from a bit later - perhaps someone who is more knowledgeable about 19th C fashions might be able to date it more accurately from the clothes.

It would be cool to find out who some of the people in the photograph were, but it's probably an impossible task. I would imagine the railway workers on the tracks were posed by the photographer for the shot (along with the station staff at the back) and the other people were either locals, or waiting for the next train into Reading. If you know anything about railways, or can shed any light on the image do let me know in the comments.

Edited to add: check out the comments below for some insightful information into the date of the photograph!