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Reading Signal Works


CloggyDog
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I'm working on a pair of micro layouts, one OO and one O, both based loosely on this section of Reading Signal Works.

 

25038306003.jpg

Photo courtesy of the Leightonlogs website: http://www.leightonlogs.org/Locals140810.htm

 

With my Modeller's License carefully shown, I'm re-working that scene to make it a 3 siding inglenook, with the viewing side to the left (omitting the building) and that 3-story building with canopy and platform along the backscene. Fiddlestick will be at the end where the photo was taken from.

 

Photos of the 2 locos (R&H DS88 #20 and the Barclay 06 97804) abound, but photos of the rolling stock are rather scarce.

 

Piecing together the stock visible in the loco shots gives me a potential fleet comprising:

12t van (mostly BR 1/208s)

12t pipe

13t sand tippler

13t 5 plank open

22t plate

22t tube

30t Bogie Bolster C (some with cable drum cradles)

 

There also appears to be some form of rail-mounted crane (c15t cap'y, diesel hydraulic of the type that the WR seems to have favoured?) and a GW Toad, possibly Internal User and with at least one end painted red. Where there any other commonly seen wagons, either traffic, departmental or IU?

 

Certainly some of the 12t vans visible have departmental branding.

 

I'd also like to understand the traffic flows a bit better - photos show plenty of cable drums scattered around the site and I know I've previously seen photos of signal posts and crossing gates loaded onto wagons, presumably outbound traffic, but did the inbound raw materials come by rail? What else went out and loaded into what type of wagon?

 

And finally, are there any published articles or books on the Works?

 

TIA

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Hi,

 

An very interesting project, seen as I'm writing this in the modern day equivalent of the Reading Signal Works, I shall be watching with interest.

 

You could try looking at books of the railways in Reading in general as these might include the signal works.

 

Simon

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I no longer own a copy but I am fairly sure that the book Rail Centres, Reading by Laurence Waters had a chapter in it about the signal works. I suspect The Stationmaster will know plenty about it, he may well be typing a response at this very moment.

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Apart from the ex-Revenue fleet wagons you've noted, other Departmental types that might be found included:-

30t 'Prawn' - basically Bolster Cs, but built specifically for the S&T- there were also a few built with two-plank fixed sides.

22t 'Winkle'- standard unfitted Plate wagons, again built for the S&T.

'Whiting'- a GWR design of long, low-sided, open, used to carry things like level-crossing barriers, signal posts etc.

Some of the ex-revenue vanfits were coded 'Tadpole'.

The crane partially visible in some photos is a Coles road crane, I suspect, similar to that issued by Corgi a while ago.

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Apart from the ex-Revenue fleet wagons you've noted, other Departmental types that might be found included:-

30t 'Prawn' - basically Bolster Cs, but built specifically for the S&T- there were also a few built with two-plank fixed sides.

22t 'Winkle'- standard unfitted Plate wagons, again built for the S&T.

'Whiting'- a GWR design of long, low-sided, open, used to carry things like level-crossing barriers, signal posts etc.

Some of the ex-revenue vanfits were coded 'Tadpole'.

The crane partially visible in some photos is a Coles road crane, I suspect, similar to that issued by Corgi a while ago.

 

Thanks Brian, very helpful. I guessed the Plates and BoBol Cs were likely the S&T Prawn/Winkle variants and will investigate the Whiting further. First impressions (based on the photos on Paul Bartlett's site) is a 2 plank body on what looks very much like a Fruit D chassis - so that might be doable from the Parkside kit.

 

Regarding cranes - I agree there was definitely a Coles road crane at the works (it's clearly visible in a couple of photos) but there is also one of the WR 10t or 15t PW cranes, either a Booths DH or a T&H DE featuring in a couple of shots. It's probably not essential for the micro layout, then again it'd give me the opportunity to bodge the Dapol (nee Airfix) kit I have in the stash  ^_^  

Edited by CloggyDog
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Thanks Brian, very helpful. I guessed the Plates and BoBol Cs were likely the S&T Prawn/Winkle variants and will investigate the Whiting further. First impressions (based on the photos on Paul Bartlett's site) is a 2 plank body on what looks very much like a Fruit D chassis - so that might be doable from the Parkside kit.

 

Regarding cranes - I agree there was definitely a Coles road crane at the works (it's clearly visible in a couple of photos) but there is also one of the WR 10t or 15t PW cranes, either a Booths DH or a T&H DE featuring in a couple of shots. It's probably not essential for the micro layout, then again it'd give me the opportunity to bodge the Dapol (nee Airfix) kit I have in the stash  ^_^  

I did a 'Whiting' with a Fruit D chassis many years ago- a Hornby-Dublo one. One using a Parkside or Dapol underframe would be a lot easier.

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Is there a track plan available?

 

of the prototype, or the layouts?

 

Best bet for the prototype is the National Library of Scotland's online OS map archive: https://maps.nls.uk/os/

 

Signal works was immediately to the north of the station, bounded by Caversham Road to the west, the lower goods yard to the north and the road to Reading Bridge to the east.

 

Layout plans - I'll sort something later this evening. 

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Alan, I'm liking the look of this, and will follow with interest.

 

I've long been a fan of the Inglenook shunting puzzle, but struggled to find an "each wagon different" scenario appropriate to the BR Blue era. A photo of the wagon repair pad at Hereford was my "that's it!" moment, but I like the idea of a signal works too, and have a similar idea bubbling way loosely inspired by an actual pace. Having built one Inglenook and found it addictive I feel another coming on!

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I'm trying to imagine what materials might arrive by rail:-

Cable in drums, as visible in Alan's linked photo; the empty drums would be returned by rail in Highfits..  They had a very large deposit on them.

Thin steel plate to build location cabinets- delivered in Plates.

Steel tubing for signal posts etc

One thing that would probably not have been delivered to the works were the concrete troughs and covers, manufactured at Taunton Concrete Works. These would go direct to a yard convenient for the signalling works being carried out.

Out-bound traffic would include location cabinets, signal posts and heads and level crossing barriers. A lot of smaller items would go as parcels on passenger trains, so there's an excuse for a 'Rail Express Parcels' road van collecting and delivering stuff. There'd also be low-sided lorries taking stuff out to smaller or more urgent jobs; Bedford TKs were popular for this.

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 Aye, I have saved most of those photos in the master file.

 

The plan doesn't show all the trackwork - the bit I'm doing is the left-hand end of the long siding along the bottom edge.

 

 

Coming back to my trackplan - very, very roughly:

 

39175688415_c02766a549_k.jpgReading Signal Works idea, 5-3-3 inglenook, O Gauge, 1200mm x 300mm + 600mm fiddlestick. by Alan Monk, on Flickr

 

The upper road into the slip will likely be 'disused'.

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As the links show a substantial part of the works was rebuilt after WWII - nothing to do with bomb damage but basically modernisation.  Originally, and following rebuilding of the works the rail access to the main part of the works was via the level crossing over Vastern Road but it could also be accessed, with some toing & froing, via the girder bridge from Reading High Level at the east end of the station and latterly this was the only rail access into Vastern Road yard and the Signal Works. It was officially under the control of the Signal Works via padlocked handpoint until 1965 when the connection to the incline was added onto the area controlled by Reading High Level Ground Frame.  As could be seen in one of the pictures linked in post No.10 at one time the works shunter was normally styabled underneath the girder bridge which was part of the incline down from High Level.

 

The most common traffic outwards which i can recall seeing was replacement signals - loaded in S&T departmental wagons and not traffic wagons,  In addition material could be seen going outwards for resignalling schemes although I'm not sure where some of it had been made and I suspect that from the 1950s onwards a lot of material was delivered inwards by road although inevitably some must have come by rail, I think virtually everything went out to site by rail.  The works was definitely taking cable into stock at the times of big resignalling schemes and pole route replacement so it would come in in traffic wagons and usually go out in departmental wagons including the specialised adapted bogie bolsters used for cable laying - I presume the empty cable drums were often returned direct?

 

I know the works held stocks of location cupboards but whether they were actually made there I don't know although they too went out to site by rail.   I wouldn't be surprised if some steel was purchased locally as there was a large steel stockholding company in Reading but the works had various metalwork and machine shops plus a forge but I'm not sure if they could undertaken non-ferrous casting.  I don't know if they did ferrous casting but they definitely held all the drawings for ferrous castings and of course they shipped out to site the cast components required for various jobs.

 

Other outwards traffic which seemed quite comm on were signalbox window frames and doors etc from the woodwork shops plus signalbox staircases - the latter were despatched complete and were painted in pink wood primer if memory serves me right.

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signalbox staircases - the latter were despatched complete and were painted in pink wood primer if memory serves me right.

 

Now that would be a load that would make a talking-point on any WR layout! Any idea what sort of wagon would have been used? One of the departmental ones you mention I presume.

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Now that would be a load that would make a talking-point on any WR layout! Any idea what sort of wagon would have been used? One of the departmental ones you mention I presume.

 

Definitely a departmental wagon - basically the equivalent of a Tube, I only ever saw them loaded on that category of wagon.

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One thing that would probably not have been delivered to the works were the concrete troughs and covers, manufactured at Taunton Concrete Works. These would go direct to a yard convenient for the signalling works being carried out.

 

Interestingly, whilst progressing the 4mm version in the shed today, I found my copy of Impermanent Ways: Berkshire (Kevin Roberton) which devotes a couple of pages to Reading Signal Works. In one photo, undated but with the 06 visible, so 1982/4, there's a tall silo which looks to be a fairly recent addition to the site, while in the middle ground is a stack of new/fresh looking troughing. Perhaps concrete casting was brought 'in house' at some point?

 

A couple of photos of the 4mm micro, baseboard is an Ikea 110cm LACK shelf which was a whole £4 in my local Ikea's Bargain Bin!post-318-0-08719200-1526237507_thumb.jpgpost-318-0-75615400-1526237639_thumb.jpgpost-318-0-41065500-1526237953_thumb.jpgpost-318-0-65790800-1526237980_thumb.jpgpost-318-0-17462600-1526238006_thumb.jpg

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Thanks Paul,

 

I'm slowly working my way through the more obvious pages of your site identifying suitable wagons, mostly in the KDBxxxxxx and similar ranges - aside from the obvious candidates (Prawns, Whitings, etc) there are a couple more ZGV 13t Shock opens and a couple of ZDV 1/208 12t vans.

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Thanks Paul,

 

I'm slowly working my way through the more obvious pages of your site identifying suitable wagons, mostly in the KDBxxxxxx and similar ranges - aside from the obvious candidates (Prawns, Whitings, etc) there are a couple more ZGV 13t Shock opens and a couple of ZDV 1/208 12t vans.

It was unfortunate that when I went to Reading in the later 1960s with Tony Dyer we didn't venture off the station - he was mainly intent on recording the parcels vehicles. So only later did I discover that parts of Reading were accessible including the West yard. They never seemed to mind me walking the considerable length of this interesting naerrow yard with its centre access. It became an occasional stopoff on our journeys to the West Country.

 

Not part of the S&T (I think) but the Pipe conversion was rather nice http://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brpipe/e21dac7aa

 

Paul

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I no longer own a copy but I am fairly sure that the book Rail Centres, Reading by Laurence Waters had a chapter in it about the signal works. I suspect The Stationmaster will know plenty about it, he may well be typing a response at this very moment.

 

Thanks, copy duly ordered.

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