wagonman

Thanks for the clarification. One example that really was double track – I know because I've travelled on it – was the 'branch' to Colchester Town station. Okay, so not strictly comparable but a useful example of a double track line ending in a single platform!

That much traffic on that short a line would almost certainly have been double track. Ilkeston Town is such a case from memory (not my area).

I'm afraid I have forgotten on what condition he would die in a ditch. Anyone care to refresh my ageing memory?

There is another word – Kakistocracy – which seems to sum up our most recent governments. Make sure it's a big ditch as you may have company. A lot of it.

Theoretically there is absolutely nothing to stop them – indeed that is pretty much what they are already doing, or at least saying they will do. Most of the checks and balances supposed to constrain such behaviour have been neutralised, or were never more than theoretical constructs – for instance the Monarch could refuse to sign such legislation but in reality never would. So, be afraid, be very afraid. Or better still be very angry. Richard

Ye Gods, and little fishes. We are truly done for!

Ah, the joys of the English language where every word has several meanings – and every meaning has several words!

Trump: King of Pimps.

What is it about royalty and their insatiable lust for utterly tasteless bling. That lot would make even a pimp blush.

That would be sad! #InTheWet

Down here in the right hand sticky out bit it's sunny, a pleasant 21°, with an on-shore breeze. And dry. Did I say it was dry? Parched.

The Winford Iron Ore & Redding Co Ltd had something like 70 wagons at its peak in the late C19. There was also a rather obscure outfit called the Somerset Hematite Co which operated wagons in the late 1870s. I can see no reason to believe the half dozen Easter Iron Mines wagons were intended for anything other than carrying iron ore in some state or other. Otherwise why would they be marked "Empty to Milkwall S&W"?

Or consult someone who has a copy of the book... The last blast furnace in the Forest (at Cinderford) closed down in 1894 so these wagons, built in 1911, would not have carried pig iron. The relevant spin off was the mining of iron oxides (ochre and red) for use in the paint and dye industries – the same trade was pursued in Somerset by eg The Winford Red Co, so these wagons would probably have carried calcined ore (in bags) to the Midlands – at least until the company went bust in 1924. The South Wales Iron Masters are also known to have imported ores from the Forest, though probably not after the turn of the century. That said, the Westbury Iron Co did operate wagons that were specifically for carrying pig iron. Unfortunately I don't have the dimensions – I would assume low sided though later 7 plank wagons were officially described as 'coal and pig iron'. Richard

Arguably the GWR had more docks than most other companies so plenty of scope for wagons to enjoy life after withdrawal.

There were definitely some D299s on the WC&PR – probably used for loco coal as there was very little merchandise traffic. Col Stephens operated a few small ships up to c1930 so the coal could have come by sea to the jetty at Wick St Lawrence. Coal for the Clevedon Gas works came by rail via the connection at Clevedon. No D299s involved in that traffic!

That is a noticeable difference! I assume we're talking roughly the same same train weight so is it the effect of superheating? Or were the B4s also superheated at that time. Confused of Cley

Where's the 'heartbroken' emoji when you need it. That is the sort of thing that happens all too frequently where family, or even business, records are concerned. Maybe there could be a law about offering such things to a local archive before they are chucked – would probably have to wade through a lot of rubbish to save the good stuff though.

Not sure why I used the 'funny' symbol. 'Scared stiff' might be more appropriate. A comprehensive history of Stephenson Clarke and Associated Companies would be a major undertaking, assuming the company/family archives were accessible.

They're (there's several) mostly 1890s to WW1 period. I'll try to find/scan a few if anyone is interested.

For what it's worth, the M&SWJR loco coal was supplied by J&W Stone of Blaina, Mon, in their own wagons. This is from photographic evidence – I don't have any documentary proof. Richard

Another giveaway is the missing bolts on the top edges of the corner plates – but as you say, it's going to be sheeted, so it doesn't matter!

Yes, the GWR had its own gas works which also supplied the GWR 'village'. Don't forget that Swindon was still using gas for much of its street lighting – the original reason for building gas works as domestic consumers came later. The switch from lighting to cooking/heating came later still. How many customers were private and how many commercial is difficult to quantify at this remove. Not entirely convinced of the usefulness either.

The Gas Co didn't keep those sort of records. 1 Consumer = 1 Bill payer.

Here is a bit of number-crunching I did for the Swindon United Gas Co: "A few statistics may be of interest: in 1908 the Swindon United Gas Co carbonised 10,286 tons of coal, and used 165,000 gallons of oil and 1,300 tons of coke. From that they produced 126,447,000 cu.ft. of coal gas and 50,962,000 cu.ft. of water gas. Their 8,718 consumers used 140,630,500 cu.ft of gas and the 741 public lamps 905,500 cu.ft. There were some fifty miles of gas main. On average a ton of coal would produce about 10,000 cu.ft of coal gas. Water gas was produced by passing steam over very hot coal or coke and was a way of boosting the hydrogen content of ‘town’ gas. It was also used in the commercial production of ammonia. Swindon United added up to 28% water gas to their supply."

The Mendip limestone was particularly hard and non-friable – hence its popularity for roadstone and railway ballast uses. "Granite", however, it was not, though Wainwright's quarry at Moons Hill works a basaltic intrusion, the Andesite produced being very hard. Richard