Early 20th century photos of Reading goods yards

[Compound2632]

Having some minutes to wait for the bus, I popped into Reading Museum and Art Gallery, to find that there is currently an exhibition “On Track: Reading’s Railways, Past, Present and Future” http://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/events/details/679/. This includes several magnificent photos of Reading goods yards in the early 20th century, including one of Reading Central goods yard in the 1910s. The shot is looking along the yard, so most wagons are nearly end on. There are numerous iron minks and opens, the latter mostly with the large G W lettering as far as one can tell. There are at least two Midland vans, but what really caught my eye, nearest the camera, is a 5 plank open with sheet bar, with the number 77445 on a cast plate on the bottom end plank. This supports the way I’ve turned out my Coopercraft O4, with number and “G.W.R” plates and “red” livery – see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/113035-more-pre-grouping-wagons-in-4mm-latest-great-western-o4-in-red/.

 

Other photos in the exhibition include one of Kings Meadow Goods Yard in the 1900s, with iron minks and 4-plank opens predominating, the latter with a mix of large G W lettering and small G.W.R. on the right-hand end of the bottom plank. There is the obligatory Midland D299 5-plank open and immediately behind it a little cameo scene of an iron mink being unloaded into a C & G Ayres covered cart hauled by a rather dinky-looking traction engine. Two behind this, there’s possibly a Midland D305 3-plank dropside wagon. There’s also a splendid interior shot of the Kings Meadow goods shed, with wagons loaded with barrels, platforms with piles of crates, bales, etc. and porters with sack barrows going about their business. It looks like one of Mikkel’s scenes!

 

Another photo shows Vastern Road low level yard in 1904. This seems to be principally a coal yard, with wagons from various Reading coal merchants – S. M. Sandy & Son, Abbey Mills, No. 2; George West Nos. 2, 3; T. Simmons & Son, No. 99; What [ ] Bros – two wagons, Nos. 61 & 73, both with the side door open so what bros they are is hidden from view; also wagons from further afield – a couple from W. Fardon of Rugby, Nos. 6 & 10, two from Cwmbran Colliery, and three from Wyken Colliery, Coventry, Nos. 322, 30?, and 441 – the latter is dumb-buffered. There’s a second rather decrepit-looking dumb-buffered wagon, with only visible writing being the number, 4064. Also visible is a C & G Ayres container, whilst in the background, on lines parallel to Vastern Road, are many sheeted opens, with again a mix of large G W and small G.W.R lettering. The chimneys of the first house we bought, in Lynmouth Road, are just visible – Mothercare now occupies part of the site of this goods yard now; very convenient when our first child was born!

 

I don’t know if these photos are from Reading Museum’s own collection or whether they are just the tip of some archival iceberg – there could be something to keep the dedicated wagon enthusiast busy for months!

 

The moral of all this is that old liveries and old wagons hang around – if the average life expectancy of a wagon in traffic is, say, 30 years, then the majority of one’s wagons should date from at least 10 years before the date one is modelling. Certainly circa 1910 the Great Western covered vans are mostly iron minks, wooden vans being the rarities, and there are still plenty of wagons with the pre-25” letter livery – i.e. red wagons – around.

 

Sorry this is largely cut-and-paste from my wagon building topic but I though it might be of interest to followers of the Great Western who might be put off by the Midland wagons at the start of that!

 

 

[inglenookfan]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

I would like to see this display at the museum but i have left that area for a while. I was in Caversham and Pangbourne for a few years and grew upnon the reading guildford line. When i was very young i was fascinated with the tunnel that went under the london line which i would see as we started up to platforms 4a/b. I believe this went to the signal works. The goods yards of Reading would make a great book and cover a very long period.

 

Have you walked the Coley line? It is a nice flat walk if you havent done it with wildlife and bridges to look at.

 

Inglenookfan

[Compound2632]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

I would like to see this display at the museum but i have left that area for a while. I was in Caversham and Pangbourne for a few years and grew upnon the reading guildford line. When i was very young i was fascinated with the tunnel that went under the london line which i would see as we started up to platforms 4a/b. I believe this went to the signal works. The goods yards of Reading would make a great book and cover a very long period.

 

Have you walked the Coley line? It is a nice flat walk if you havent done it with wildlife and bridges to look at.

 

Inglenookfan

 

I've driven the Coley line many times - the A33 relief road follows part of the route. What I took to be the last remaining railway building has recently been demolished. On the other hand, the tunnel has recently been opened as a pedestrian route conveniently linking the Kings Meadow Tesco with Hobbycraft! This was the tunnel - really a series of bridges of differing height - giving access to Huntley & Palmers from the Kings Meadow Goods Yard - see http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sidebyside.cfm#zoom=17&lat=51.4580&lon=-0.9611&layers=176&right=BingHyb.

[The Stationmaster]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

I would like to see this display at the museum but i have left that area for a while. I was in Caversham and Pangbourne for a few years and grew upnon the reading guildford line. When i was very young i was fascinated with the tunnel that went under the london line which i would see as we started up to platforms 4a/b. I believe this went to the signal works. The goods yards of Reading would make a great book and cover a very long period.

 

Have you walked the Coley line? It is a nice flat walk if you havent done it with wildlife and bridges to look at.

 

Inglenookfan

 

The 'tunnel' you refer to was a connection between the GWR lines on their north side going under all 4 running lines and then emerging onto the SECR/L&SWR line.  It lasted as a shunting connection for freight traffic into the late 1960s/early '70s and the track was eventually removed but it has been restored as a passenger line as part of the Reading station rebuilding.

 

The connection to the signal works and Vastern Road yard came off at Reading High Level and crossed over a girder bridge then descended to their level but there was also another connection to the signal works underneath the girder bridge.

[Compound2632]

The 'tunnel' you refer to was a connection between the GWR lines on their north side going under all 4 running lines and then emerging onto the SECR/L&SWR line.  It lasted as a shunting connection for freight traffic into the late 1960s/early '70s and the track was eventually removed but it has been restored as a passenger line as part of the Reading station rebuilding.

 

The connection to the signal works and Vastern Road yard came off at Reading High Level and crossed over a girder bridge then descended to their level but there was also another connection to the signal works underneath the girder bridge.

 

This is also visible on the map extract - my understanding was that this link through the goods yard was the only link between the Great Western and South Eastern lines until WW2? I assumed Inglenookfan meant the Huntley & Palmers bridge as that's much more tunnel-like, whereas the one you refer to is more bridge-like - doesn't it have (or perhaps had until recently) plate girder spans? As a ground-dwelling inhabitant of Reading for over 20 years most of whose rail travel has been by the old SER route, I've always been looking up to the Great Western (!) and more familiar with its underbelly from Cow Lane in the west to the Kennet bridge in the east. The brickwork of the skew arch of the latter makes an interesting study...

[Compound2632]

I enquired of Reading Museum. These photos are from the NRM/Science Museum picture library. The ones of Kings Meadow and Vastern Road yards appeared in an article on Reading goods yards by John Copsey and Chris Turner in Great Western Journal Nos. 80 (Autumn 2011) and 81 (Winter 2012). The interior of the Kings Meadow transhipment shed is in Atkins, "GWR Goods Services - Goods Depots and their Operations".

[Edwardian]

Here: http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10684911&itemw=4&itemf=0002&itemstep=1&itemx=105

 

And here: http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10684912&itemw=4&itemf=0002&itemstep=1&itemx=106

 

Thanks, Compound, a great find.

[The Stationmaster]

Here: http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10684911&itemw=4&itemf=0002&itemstep=1&itemx=105

 

And here: http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10684912&itemw=4&itemf=0002&itemstep=1&itemx=106

 

Thanks, Compound, a great find.

 

All being well I'm off for a look at the exhibition tomorrow having despatched Mrs Stationmaster to meet a friend and her children, from Canada, at Hampton Court.

 

The goods shed (where I worked for a while, almost 50 years ago) picture is very interesting as it shows it with two rail lines which makes me wonder if the one on the left was a dead end or whether there was a bridge across it to reach the cartage side of the deck on the left.  The photographer also did rather well climbing up to the top (I would think judging by the angle) of the large water tower which fed water columns and the hydraulic lifts in the station and goods depot as well as the goods shed capstans.

[Edwardian]

All being well I'm off for a look at the exhibition tomorrow having despatched Mrs Stationmaster to meet a friend and her children, from Canada, at Hampton Court.

 

The goods shed (where I worked for a while, almost 50 years ago) picture is very interesting as it shows it with two rail lines which makes me wonder if the one on the left was a dead end or whether there was a bridge across it to reach the cartage side of the deck on the left.  The photographer also did rather well climbing up to the top (I would think judging by the angle) of the large water tower which fed water columns and the hydraulic lifts in the station and goods depot as well as the goods shed capstans.

 

Mike,

 

If you attend, and are permitted to, it might be worth taking photographs of the photographs.

 

I frequently do so in museums, and have only once (in Grassington!) encountered a prohibition.

 

Reading is rather far for me, so I thought about purchasing the prints from the NRM, but I did not want either of the alternatives offered, "commercial use" or a framed print, and the link to purchase the latter soon lead to a dead end in any case.

 

James

[Edwardian]

Is Writing any nearer?

 

Only with the correct glasses

[The Stationmaster]

Mike,

 

If you attend, and are permitted to, it might be worth taking photographs of the photographs.

 

I frequently do so in museums, and have only once (in Grassington!) encountered a prohibition.

 

Reading is rather far for me, so I thought about purchasing the prints from the NRM, but I did not want either of the alternatives offered, "commercial use" or a framed print, and the link to purchase the latter soon lead to a dead end in any case.

 

James

 

I'll try my luck James - probably a ban on using flash (which reflects anyway) but they might give me a go without.  Watch this thread ...

(I might be soem time as although Mrs Stationmaster s aiming for an earliyish train I might take myself to Bill's for breakfast - too good a chance to miss.

 

https://bills-website.co.uk/restaurants/reading/

[Compound2632]

I'll try my luck James - probably a ban on using flash (which reflects anyway) but they might give me a go without.  Watch this thread ...

(I might be soem time as although Mrs Stationmaster s aiming for an earliyish train I might take myself to Bill's for breakfast - too good a chance to miss.

 

https://bills-website.co.uk/restaurants/reading/

 

I wouldn't get too excited - it's a small exhibition; these photos were the best things in it apart from the story about the popular disappointment when the South Eastern station caught fire from a lightening strike, rather than the Great Western station. It's in the Madeiski Gallery so the biscuit tins are next door and they're always good for a half-an-hour's browse. "No Photography". Best route to copies of the photos would be to buy the back-numbers of GWJ.

 

Is Writing any nearer?

 

Cue the old (1930s) joke about the American lady* at Paddington - she was impressed by the facilities offered by the GWR, not just the usual dining and sleeping cars but also coaches labelled "Bath" and "For Reading".

 

*Deeply sexist and xenophobic, I'm afraid, and not representative of my opinions. All the American ladies I have known are of wide cultural experience and sensitivity.

[The Stationmaster]

I duly arrived in the exhibition via the H&P gallery so didn't see the 'no photography' sign - so got a (friendly) ticking off once I started taking photos  

 

Overall it's quite a good exhibition considering space is fairly limited and there are very few errors in the generally very good captioning - which I found rather refreshing (two are dates - both quoting the wrong decade) one of is a misdescription of a running-in board as a 'running board' and the other is describing 'The Cheltenham Flyer' as an engine instead of a train.  Some stuff is a bit sparse in the non-photographic area - in fact in some cases I've got far more over much longer periods of certain items (e.g Rule Books and timetables) than they have but they have had to rely on what they were offered of course.

 

So no pics folks.  But the early pictures concerning freight depots etc are all Science Museum/NRM items plus past GWJ articles as already noted.

[Compound2632]

I duly arrived in the exhibition via the H&P gallery so didn't see the 'no photography' sign - so got a (friendly) ticking off once I started taking photos  

 

Overall it's quite a good exhibition considering space is fairly limited and there are very few errors in the generally very good captioning - which I found rather refreshing (two are dates - both quoting the wrong decade) one of is a misdescription of a running-in board as a 'running board' and the other is describing 'The Cheltenham Flyer' as an engine instead of a train.  Some stuff is a bit sparse in the non-photographic area - in fact in some cases I've got far more over much longer periods of certain items (e.g Rule Books and timetables) than they have but they have had to rely on what they were offered of course.

 

So no pics folks.  But the early pictures concerning freight depots etc are all Science Museum/NRM items plus past GWJ articles as already noted.

Mike, glad you didn't find it a waste of time.

[inglenookfan]

I love seeing pics of the various goods yards around Reading. 

 

Maybe this thread(or a new thread) could develop as an accurate pictorial record of the yards as there are knowledgeable forum members who worked in and among them.  It would be very interesting to see the changes that have taken place over the years, the people, horses, locos, wagons, buildings, associated businesses and infrastructure.

 

Inglenookfan

[The Stationmaster]

I love seeing pics of the various goods yards around Reading. 

 

Maybe this thread(or a new thread) could develop as an accurate pictorial record of the yards as there are knowledgeable forum members who worked in and among them.  It would be very interesting to see the changes that have taken place over the years, the people, horses, locos, wagons, buildings, associated businesses and infrastructure.

 

Inglenookfan

 

Regrettably all have vanished in most cases without any indication that they ever existed.

 

Kings Meadow GWR goods depot is now under a mixture of BMW dealership (part recently demolished), small office blocks and - added in recent times - the NR infrastructure depot built to replace facilities lost west of the station under the new stabling sidings.  The inclined approach from Reading High Level (the old location name) survives and is now fully restored to passenger use while the tunnel under the Relief & Main Lines  to reach the H&P site has recently become a pedestrian subway.

 

Vastern Road coal and full loads yard has totally vanished along with the adjacent signal works with not even the former fence lines remaining - the access viaduct from High Level is long gone and the siding connection across the road to the Kings Meadow depot went over 50 years ago.

 

At Reading Central (also known as Coley) the road bridge over the approach tracks still survives but underneath it is no longer a railway and most of the site has been swept away under various developments.

 

The cattle dock at Reading West Goods (signalbox) went under the layout changes and new stabling sidings east of the depot complex although the actual cattle dock structure had largely vanished some years ago.

The former Southern goods depot site has also long since vanished under redevelopment of various kinds.

 

Reading West Jcn marshalling yard - the 'new yard' as some knew it - is now under the new 'traincare' depot with absolutely nothing to indicate it was ever there.  

 

The Down Old Yard, which lay in the V of Oxford Road Curve and the Main Lines at Reading West Jcn has also vanished completely - partly under non railway development with the rest obliterated by the recent major layout changes.

 

Scours Lane Yard has also vanished under redevelopment.

 

There is little or no evidence of any of the private sidings in the area -

 

Earley Power Station closed some years ago and the sidings site is now totally overgrown.  All that is left of the H&P factory connections is the tunnel mentioned above (and presumably the second one under the Southern line).  Similarly there is no trace of any connections to the cold store at Scours Lane and of course the nearby Tilehurst Good Yard is also long gone having become the station car park and more recently a plant stabling site for electrification work.

 

There are some useful photos of some of the depots in the exhibition at the museum - mostly of the Kings Meadow depot and Reading Central.  The former obviously changed considerably over the years - the original two tracks inside the building (shown in one photo) were reduced to one and another photo indicates that latterly (post 1967 so therefore in NCL days) this was stopblocked at one end so clearly the method of working the shed changed considerably from that I knew which involved wagons going in at one end and coming out at the other then being sent back along/stabled on the siding outside the shed with those moves being done by capstan.

[Compound2632]

... and the area between the Great Western embankment and Forbury Road was occupied by the South Eastern Railway's goods yard and engine shed, the station being where the old "new" concourse (Brunel Arcade) of 1989 stands. I was told by a sofa salesman that the reason the Forbury Retail Park doesn't have aircon is that digging out the foundations of the turntable pit cost rather more than anticipated!

[The Stationmaster]

Not sure if this will work - looks like it does and thus you can see exactly what is on top of what used to be there.  The Southern goods yard was on the south side of the running lines into the station, the engine shed and turntable were at the foot of the GWR embankment with the shed more or less immediately behind east Main Signalbox.

 

http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sidebyside.cfm#zoom=16&lat=51.4575&lon=-0.9646&layers=6&right=BingHyb

[ChrisN]

Not sure if this will work - looks like it does and thus you can see exactly what is on top of what used to be there.  The Southern goods yard was on the south side of the running lines into the station, the engine shed and turntable were at the foot of the GWR embankment with the shed more or less immediately behind east Main Signalbox.

 

http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sidebyside.cfm#zoom=16&lat=51.4575&lon=-0.9646&layers=6&right=BingHyb

 

When I click on the link it gives me 'Side by side'.  When I click on 'Explore Georeferenced Maps' on the insert on the left there is a round blue disc marked 'Change transparency of overlay'  Moving that backwards and forwards changes the map from 1898 to the present day.

[Donw]

Interesting the side by side arrangement I grew up across the river from Kings Meadow, so the old map is what I remember. After the SR goods yard had been closed I was working shifts nearby on nights we would wander round the old yard during breaks as the dawn came up. The was also a timber yard in that cluster of buildings north of the shed by the entrance to Kings Meadow. When the yard closed for the night the local cats would gather in the yard. The ungated low level crossing over Vastern road  by the bridges was rarely used by  the time I passed it daily going to and from school. 

Don

[The Stationmaster]

Interesting the side by side arrangement I grew up across the river from Kings Meadow, so the old map is what I remember. After the SR goods yard had been closed I was working shifts nearby on nights we would wander round the old yard during breaks as the dawn came up. The was also a timber yard in that cluster of buildings north of the shed by the entrance to Kings Meadow. When the yard closed for the night the local cats would gather in the yard. The ungated low level crossing over Vastern road  by the bridges was rarely used by  the time I passed it daily going to and from school. 

Don

 

Are you sure it was ungated Don?  There were definitely gates in the fence line line on the coal yard/signal works side and I'm fairly sure there were gates on the goods depot side as well.  But as far as I know they didn't open across the road and the 1960 Appendix Instruction refers specifically to stationing staff to prevent vehicles and pedestrians crossing the siding when the gates had been opened for a rail movement.

[Donw]

Are you sure it was ungated Don?  There were definitely gates in the fence line line on the coal yard/signal works side and I'm fairly sure there were gates on the goods depot side as well.  But as far as I know they didn't open across the road and the 1960 Appendix Instruction refers specifically to stationing staff to prevent vehicles and pedestrians crossing the siding when the gates had been opened for a rail movement.

 

There were gates on the railway side but not normal crossing gates. This is what I meant by ungated. These did not block the road hence the specific instruction to station staff to stop vehicles and pedestrians. The road signs showed an ungated crossing so I assume it had been thus for some time. The gates were only there to prevent entry by the public into the yards. A quick google suggests the correct term is unguarded. perhaps because it also covers the lack of barriers.

Don

[The Stationmaster]

There were gates on the railway side but not normal crossing gates. This is what I meant by ungated. These did not block the road hence the specific instruction to station staff to stop vehicles and pedestrians. The road signs showed an ungated crossing so I assume it had been thus for some time. The gates were only there to prevent entry by the public into the yards. A quick google suggests the correct term is unguarded. perhaps because it also covers the lack of barriers.

Don

 

The gates were basically no more than part of the fence line which could be opened so it wasn't a 'level crossing' in the normal sense of gates closing alternately across road or rail but - as you say - simply one with nothing except a red flag to stop road traffic.