Dick Clark

Again, thanks for such a detailed answer, and thanks for being so patient with me! I do realise I'm going about this the wrong way round in many ways - trying to find an industrial scenario to fit the sort of model railway I want to build and run, rather than building the model to depict the genuine industry. I also admit to free application of artistic licence and a large dose of what-iffery. I am willing to suppose that the industry developed in my own idiosyncratic style in my private fictitious corner of Cornwall! All the same, I'd like my model to have some basis in reality. The passage I was referring to in Maurice Dart's 'Industrial & Narrow Gauge etc' book is on page 25, under the heading 'Hendra Light Railway', he states "This 2ft gauge line at Nanpean transferred clay from the coal fired drying kiln three quarters of a mile to a storage building alongside the West of England China Clay Co's siding near Drinnick Mill. A loaded train is leaving the kiln c1922 with clay bound for the store.' I certainly don't want to dispute your far superior knowledge (compared to mine) but there does seem on the face of it to be some discrepancy. The trains in the photos are made up of tipper wagons, but the images are not clear enough to make out what those wagons contain. One would imagine bagged clay, but that seems unlikely to be carried in tippers, unless they were just using whatever they happened to have available. I am aware that there would be a return flow of materials as you describe, and I could always assume there might be another type of business using the system. I have MJT Lewis's book 'The Pentewan Tramway' in which he also refers to supplies to and from lime kilns at Pentewan and St. Austell. I know this was also an industry served by the Looe & Liskeard line. Indeed, I had thought this might offer an alternative primary industry for my layout, but I am finding the clay industry more fascinating the more I look into it. I might end up compromising and modelling an exchange yard (wharf, if that's the correct Cornish term?) between the GWR and a narrow-gauge line serving several local industries. From an operational perspective this might prove both more interesting and more practical, given the space I have available. The other book I ordered, which I couldn't remember the title of yesterday, is 'From Lostwithiel to the China Clay Rails' by Bernard Mills. That arrived this morning and looks to have a lot of useful photographic reference material. I'll have a good read of it as soon as I've finished the one I'm reading at the moment about the 251st Tunnelling Company in World War One! I might be a relative newcomer to the county, but I'm immersing myself in local history! Once again, thanks for all your help.

Hi - would anyone have any information regarding how to disassemble the Egger-Bahn 'Steam Coach', catalogue number 1010? I just acquired one second-hand and it runs well but rather noisily! If I could get it to run more quietly that would be great, but also I want to respray it, improve the windows and add a few passengers and crew. Before I start experimenting I just wonder if anyone might have proper instructions. With thanks in advance.

Wow! Thanks for such a detailed and comprehensive reply! I ordered a copy of Charles Thurlow's book yesterday, plus another one on the clay railways around Cornwall - I can't remember the title, I'll let you know when it arrives. I've obviously been under a complete misapprehension in thinking that the clay arrived at the dries in a semi-solid state, so my idea of it being delivered by narrow-gauge railway is way off the mark! I must have misunderstood the photos I've been looking at. I thought the 'raw material', for want of a better expression, was transported in V-type tipper wagons. Is it more likely that dried clay would be shipped from the dry to a store, as I understand was the case between Hendra kiln and Nanpean, on the Hendra Light Railway (I am attempting to join the dots in Industrial & Narrow Gauge Railways!)? This shows the importance of research - I could have made a very silly layout, like my last 009 effort, Upper Gumtry. But that was meant to be silly, albeit still with serious modelling. My research has touched on something else which I thought would confuse me even more, but which I am beginning to suspect might make more sense. Ball clay - what's that, then?

Hi Stoker, thanks for your reply. I have Maurice Dart's book 'Images of Industrial & Narrow Gauge Railways - Cornwall' - is that the one you mean? I wish such books included plans or maps, but I guess that's something I can research myself. My line will be fictitious, but I like to base things on prototypical practice as far as possible, whilst still giving me plenty of scenic and operational interest. I'm using two sides of a 9'x9' room, with a fiddle yard down the back of one side, a small terminus serving both industry and limited goods/passengers a la Moorswater along the other and the narrow gauge at a higher level along the back of both sides. The terminus will include sidings and a headhunt to serve the clay dry, with the dry itself in front of the fiddle yard. It occurs to me that the large, sloping roof over the dries as in your drawings could conveniently cover the fiddle yard, and be constructed to hinge upwards and forwards to give access to the fiddle yard. I am currently drawing up a detailed plan which I would be delighted to share when done. What I really need to learn more about is how the dries actually operated. Clearly there's a lot more to it than just a shed! I can arrange to have a dry at least a scale 100' long, which I accept is still small, but at least it should do the real thing some justice. Do I understand correctly that the settling tanks were usually behind the dries, and resemble salt-drying pans? More information about the actual process would be very much appreciated. Happy New Year!

Hi - I’m Dick, I’m new here, but finally joined rmweb because of this thread! I’ve been planning a Cornish branch/industrial layout for over a year without finally settling on exactly what industry. I’ve been thinking quarrying, tin or copper mining, or clay, and clay seems to be winning. But there is a lack of information about what the clay industry actually involved in, say, the mid to late 1930’s. I’m looking for something that could feasibly require a 009 feeder line with a transfer to standard gauge, and it would seem a clay dry might be the perfect solution. And I may have enough room for a near-full size dry! Have you made any progress with your book?