Alford sidings (near Castle Cary)

[KeithMacdonald]

I just spotted these sidings on Rail Map Online, close to the village of Alford in Somerset, west of Castle Cary.

 

 

I tried RMWeb search, but the only Alford I can find mentioned is much further north. At first I wondered if they were for a quarry, like Cranmore. But Wikipaedia suggests something else.

 

Quote

 

Alford Halt on the Great Western Railway's Langport and Castle Cary Railway was opened on 21 July 1905, three weeks after the line was opened as far as Charlton Mackrell, to serve the village of Alford. A siding was opened for military goods traffic on 15 September 1940. The halt closed on 10 September 1962.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alford,_Somerset

 

Anyone got any ideas what it was for?

[iands]

Not sure this provides the answer you are seeking, but the NLS maps give a bit more detail of the sidings.

 

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16&lat=51.0783&lon=-2.5537&layers=193&right=BingHyb

[KeithMacdonald]

Thanks, it's a bit of a clue, even if nothing is named.

 

We can see the same detail here:

https://maps.nls.uk/view/189241965

 

Or here:

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=51.0845&lon=-2.5504&layers=193&b=1

 

It looks like a storage site of some kind?

[keefer]

From British History Online: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol10/pp53-61

Entry for Castle Cary, under 'Impact of War' (scroll down):

"A large ammunition depot was constructed south-west of Dimmer comprising over 20 storage units each consisting of four semi-circular iron and concrete huts with steel doors on deep foundations and enclosed by brick and concrete blast walls, circular water tanks, accommodation, and other buildings. Sometimes known as Alford camp, it was served by a railway track from the main line in Alford. (fn. 169) Most of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps huts were blown up c. 1976, (fn. 170) but seven survived in 1997. After the war the site was a vehicle breaker's yard and a Wincanton Rural District council refuse dump. In 1989 Somerset County Council bought Alford Well farm in Alford and part of Church farm, Lovington to enlarge the site for a controversial waste tip and recycling centre. A visitor centre and a gas generation scheme were begun in 1998 and in 2002 the site was known as Carymoor Environmental Centre with education facilities, wildlife projects and buildings constructed using traditional oak carpentry and recycled materials."

[The Stationmaster]

18 hours ago, iands said:

Not sure this provides the answer you are seeking, but the NLS maps give a bit more detail of the sidings.

 

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16&lat=51.0783&lon=-2.5537&layers=193&right=BingHyb

Definitely looks like an ammunition/explosives storage facility on that map.    In fact I'm surprised it even appeared on a public map particularly that obviously because at least one major military explosives site in Somerset was for many issues a rather plain looking area on OS maps.  Its presence might help explain why the Luftwaffe bombed Castle Cary station in WWII 

[Wickham Green]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

Definitely looks like an ammunition/explosives storage facility on that map.    In fact I'm surprised it even appeared on a public map particularly that obviously because at least one major military explosives site in Somerset was for many issues a rather plain looking area on OS maps.  Its presence might help explain why the Luftwaffe bombed Castle Cary station in WWII 

Lots of such sensitive sites were - conspicuous - empty spaces on O.S. maps* ..................... ironic that "Most of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps huts were blown up" !

 

* Anyone remember the "Bramley Bunker" railtour round a Hampshire blank ?

[KeithMacdonald]

2 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

Definitely looks like an ammunition/explosives storage facility on that map.    In fact I'm surprised it even appeared on a public map particularly that obviously because at least one major military explosives site in Somerset was for many issues a rather plain looking area on OS maps.  Its presence might help explain why the Luftwaffe bombed Castle Cary station in WWII 

 

Yes, lots of "Top Secret" places that all the locals knew were there.  Like the Royal Ordnance Factory in Bridgwater.

 

Quote

The factory was connected to the Great Western Railway (GWR) by a private, 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge branch line and sidings with its own locomotive. This was used both for supplies, such as acid in tanker wagons from ICI and coal for the power station, and for distribution of the finished product. A bridge was built in the early 1970s to carry the line over the M5 motorway, just north of junction 23, when the M5 was extended southwards from the M50. The line became disused after the privatisation of the ROFs and the track has been lifted. The British Rail sidings were known as Huntspill (Puriton)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROF_Bridgwater

 

Incidently, there was a great civilian benefit from the ROF factory being there:
 

Quote

 

As munitions production needed a guaranteed year-round clean water supply of several million gallons per day, the site was ideal, being able to obtain supplies from the water-logged Somerset Levels:

the artificial Huntspill River, dug during construction;

the King's Sedgemoor Drain, widened at the same time;

water that accumulated due to the high water table in the "Borrow Pits", dug to produce traverses around the explosive magazines.

Both the waterways are now an integral part of the drainage system of the Somerset Levels.

 

 

i.e. the artificial rivers and drains were well maintained and regularly dredged to ensure the water kept flowing off the Somerset Levels. Sadly, after the factory closed and the responsibility for the waterways transferred to the Environment Agency, the latter organisation insisted on treating the waterways as "natural". They stopped dredging "to protect the wildlife habitat". Which did not help when the Somerset Levels flooded in November 2012 and again in Jan-Feb 2014.

 

I'll play safe and not mention some other "Top Secret" places that are still active (but easily visible on Google Maps satellite view).

[KeithMacdonald]

Oh, alright then, here's another one:

 

Don't tell them your location, Bramley!

 

 

 

[enz]

Bramley training area (was Bramley Ordnance Depot), perhaps? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bramley_Training_Area

 

There seem to be a few of these dotted around the UK.

 

Regards - Evan

[Adam]

Even without the railway connection it's worth noting that Alford was not alone in the area - RNAS Yeovilton was (like Puriton) entirely missing from the OS until the '80s despite being plainly visible from the main road.

 

Adam

 

PS - Nice to see the products of the day job - the Victoria County History - as cited on British History Online and on used on Wikipedia in use here.

Edited December 20, 2019 by Adam

[The Stationmaster]

On 17/12/2019 at 22:11, KeithMacdonald said:

Oh, alright then, here's another one:

 

Don't tell them your location, Bramley!

 

hile some of that end of teh site has been built over

 

 

Ah, Bramley a very nice little engine shed next to the GWR line and then the fantastic network joining all the various sites around the ordnance storage and training areas.  

 

Fascinating place to visit - which I did with the school CCF in the mod 1960s although our anticipated train ride to one of the further sites had to be cancelled due to some sort of problem with part of our programme for the day over-running. (probably the explosives demonstration which was great fun).  Most amusing site of the day was a visit to a hut where .303 ammo was being inspected - it was the only stock of .303 ammo left in the country, about 1 million rounds - and it was required for Bisley that year.  However when the first metal container had been opened it was found that the dye used in the bandoliers had caused contamination and corrosion of the brass cartridge cases so the whole lot had to be stripped out of the bandoliers, checked for damage and then sorted into three heaps - undamaged and ok to use and repack into new bandoliers; not too badly corroded and capable of being cleaned up  (with wire wool and Duraglit) then repacked into clean(ed) chargers and new bandoliers; and too  badly corroded to save so to be destroyed by being blown up elsewhere on the site.  The day we visited I think they had something like half a million  rounds still to do. and around four weeks to get the job finished.

 

The railway has long gone and the site of the engine shed and yard is now overgrown with trees while some of that end of teh site has been built over.  i'm not sure how much of the rest of the site remains in MoD hands but a significant area to the west of the railway definitely does.

[wagonman]

There was yet another of these depots in Savernake Forest – this one was nearly destroyed in 1946 when an ammunition train caught fire...