Traversers

[Stormbringer]

Hi all.

I went past the traverser at Felixstowe earlier and it started me to wondering if there were any more working traversers in this country?

 

 

Pete

Edited November 21, 2018 by Stormbringer

[Mark Saunders]

Out of use but still there is the one in York Wagon Shops plusthe one at the carriage works that is being removed in the near future!

Edited November 21, 2018 by Mark Saunders

[Fat Controller]

Out of use but still there is the one in York Wagon Shops plusthe one

The former Marcroft (now DBC/Axiom) site at Stoke has some., there is one at the former RTC at Derby, and another at Brush Loughborough.

[Redkiterail]

London gateway, eastligh works

[Davexoc]

Steam in Swindon and Crich Tramway.

[Zomboid]

Isn't there one at Didcot?

[Fat Controller]

There's one at Fowey, to move wagons back to the sidings after unloading.

One of the more unusual applications of a traverser I'm aware of is not in the UK, but at one of the Peugeot plants in Eastern France (Sochaux?). Loaded trains of cars are long by European standards, meaning that it takes the 'jockeys' a long time to drive cars to the far end. To reduce this, a traverser is used; incoming trains are broken down into pairs of twin wagons and a 'mule' attached to the far end. The wagons are brought down to the loading ramps, and placed on the traverser. Once loaded, they are moved sideways on to the departure track, where they are coupled to either another 'mule', or to the last vehicle already on the track, and moved away from the loading area. The loaded wagons are then taken by shunter to the main departure sidings, to be formed into complete trains, or portions to be added to mixed freights.

[woodenhead]

There is the famous one at Crewe Works, whether it is still used to move bogies I don't know.

[Fat Controller]

Not in the UK, but how about the set-up I've linked to below. It's not a works, but a running shed, with a longitudinal traverser fed by two turntables.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Matabiau,+Toulouse,+France/@43.6134037,1.4541037,331m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x12aebca2147379cb:0xa4d8e8da788f434c!8m2!3d43.6103756!4d1.4495103?hl=en

There are variations on this theme around SNCF; La Chapelle, outside Gare du Nord, being one many of you will have passed.

[daltonparva]

There's one in my loft.

 

https://youtu.be/7Yi1CTi9YIs

Edited November 23, 2018 by daltonparva

[Wickham Green]

I'm not sure if the one at Inchicore is still used ?

[RLBH]

We have one where I work to move ships to the right refit bay after being lifted out. It's not connected to the rail network though - not even our disused internal one. The inner rails (it has four) may be standard gauge, but I doubt it.

[Ian Kirk]

There were once a lot dotted about the country, most wagon works had them even the little wagon repair works at Thornton that I went to look at when it closed about 50 years ago as a possible factory unit plus site for Railway preservation. Builder got it though and it now makes timber frame houses. There is one still at Swindon but I do not think it is still operable. 

The reason they were popular in wagon/coach works is the huge saving in length over conventional pointwork. A fact not missed by railway modellers.  My little O gauge "Thrift Drift " has one concealed under the colliery buildings connecting three tracks to allow exchange of full and empties. This is about a foot long in O gauge (two wagons) but to do the same with conventional points would need two plus a headshunt.Even with tight radius points it would have needed 3 to 4 ft.  The old wagon works people were not daft. Even the little one I looked at had 4 or 5 roads in the working area and a few outside The combination of traverser and a few wagon turntables brought all of this down to one track out the gate to connect with BR and yet it all fitted within a comparatively small yard.

 

best wishes,

 

Ian .  

[ejstubbs]

isn't there a traverser at the Hitachi plant at Newton Aycliffe?  I'm sure I saw it on Portillo's programme a while back.

 

Just checked online: I was wrong.  There are two!

 

https://www.railway-technology.com/products/traversers/

 

The same company has also built a two-road one at Ilford for Crossrail.

 

In both cases the reason was as Ian Kirk's posting: saving space.

[Northroader]

A lot of railway workshops had them, generally spanning the end of a workshop feeding individual bays in the shop. Away from there, they were quite rare in traffic use. The best on I can think of was Birmingham Moor Street, where they were used to provide a runround in the bay platforms, and saving space, which real Railways normally don’t worry about as much as modellers do. There’s one on my Washbourne line, using B&Q drawer runners, and I swear by this as a useful way of doing things.

http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrms1223.htm

Edited November 24, 2018 by Northroader

[pb_devon]

We have one where I work to move ships to the right refit bay after being lifted out. It's not connected to the rail network though - not even our disused internal one. The inner rails (it has four) may be standard gauge, but I doubt it.

Would you be able to say where this is please?

[melmerby]

 The best on I can think of was Birmingham Moor Street, where they were used to provide a runround in the bay platforms, and saving space, which real Railways normally don’t worry about as much as modellers do.

Snow Hill at one time had a sector plate for the same reasons on the bay platforms, another modelling space-saver.

 

Keith

[billy_anorak59]

Crewe Works - 1977...

 

 

...and 1979...

 

[Northroader]

Here’s one of the Swindon A shop,

[Joseph_Pestell]

There were once a lot dotted about the country, most wagon works had them even the little wagon repair works at Thornton that I went to look at when it closed about 50 years ago as a possible factory unit plus site for Railway preservation. Builder got it though and it now makes timber frame houses. There is one still at Swindon but I do not think it is still operable. 

The reason they were popular in wagon/coach works is the huge saving in length over conventional pointwork. A fact not missed by railway modellers.  My little O gauge "Thrift Drift " has one concealed under the colliery buildings connecting three tracks to allow exchange of full and empties. This is about a foot long in O gauge (two wagons) but to do the same with conventional points would need two plus a headshunt.Even with tight radius points it would have needed 3 to 4 ft.  The old wagon works people were not daft. Even the little one I looked at had 4 or 5 roads in the working area and a few outside The combination of traverser and a few wagon turntables brought all of this down to one track out the gate to connect with BR and yet it all fitted within a comparatively small yard.

 

best wishes,

 

Ian .  

 

I think the Swindon one (at Steam museum) is still used. It's the best way to get locos off a low loader lorry and into the museum.

[melmerby]

Another place that used traversers was Birmingham Moor Street low level goods sheds (one each side of Park Street at street level)

Wagon hoists dropped the wagons from track level to lower level where they were move by traversers and capstans.

 

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/moorstreet/gwrms1205.jpg

 

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/moorstreet/gwrms1220.jpg

 

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/moorstreet/gwrms2740a.jpg

 

Also some wagon turntables.

 

Keith

Edited November 28, 2018 by melmerby

[Northroader]

The one that was at Nine Elms works had a slight steampunk look to it.

[ejstubbs]

Nah, can't be steampunk - no-one is wearing goggles.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2018/nov/25/sixth-haworth-steampunk-annual-weekend-in-pictures

[AMJ]

The proposed new station for Corris is planned to have a sector plate due to space restrictions.

[87023Velocity]

Bombardier at Derby Litchurch lane still has 2 in daily use.

 

Cheers

 

Simon