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Tank wagons at Thurso?


Kylestrome
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1 hour ago, Scottish Modeller said:

Hi David,

 

From memory and discussions elsewhere...

 

Fuel Oil for commercial use and Bitumen for council coating plant.

 

Thanks for that info but what I really want know is how were the tanks unloaded?

 

David

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Most likely a hand-pump for the most viscous and gravity for the rest. There was a type of lever-pump that had been much-used by the military. If there was even a small fall to the depots, then it would not take long to feed a pipe through a gap in the fence; as late as the 1980s,  the wine-bottling plant at Aylesbury used to recieve stock via a hole in the coal Depot fence.

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The oil siding was the furthest right and had discharge pipes to the small storage facility lower down the lane outside the station. Here are a couple of shots - the B/W one from 1965 showing some on the station side of the oil siding. These were latterly removed and the colour one has a glimpse of the later ones od the last siding. There were several of these and I have a better pic somewhere of them. I am not sure if both types existed side by side - one of these small matters that could have been ascertained verbally two or three decades ago, but too late now...

 

PICT2791acrop.JPG.03ac21b939ad3900027caa3cf54b81e9.JPG1611000079_oilpiping-cropc.jpg.7ad4658e7cf87450be6cf581537073c6.jpg

 

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3 hours ago, Ben Alder said:

The oil siding was the furthest right and had discharge pipes to the small storage facility lower down the lane outside the station. Here are a couple of shots - the B/W one from 1965 showing some on the station side of the oil siding. These were latterly removed and the colour one has a glimpse of the later ones od the last siding. There were several of these and I have a better pic somewhere of them. ..............

 

 

Ben Alder, many thanks. I guessed you would be along with the answer and some rare photos! :good:

 

It seems like one of those high discharge pipes is visible on the Flickr photo above.

 

David

Edited by Kylestrome
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The low discharge was for the heavy, relatively safe, fuel oils - delivered in the black tanks. The high discharge was for siphoning light, flammable, fuel oils. The first photo shows the unfitted tank wagons of the later photos have been replaced by class A vacuum braked tank wagons - they look like the early type recently modelled by Heljan in 4 and 7mm.

 

If bitumen was also being delivered it would have required either a supply of steam or flames into flame tubes as it had to be warmed to discharge it.

 

Nice very interesting photos of facilities rarely noticed by photographers.

 

Paul

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On 28 December 2019 at 14:03, Kylestrome said:

I've seen many photos of tank wagons at thurso, including this one:

 

Thurso Station & Yard_MSS0404_040968

 

What I would like to know is, how were they unloaded as there doesn't appear to be any storage tank or unloading equipment in the yard?

 

David

 

Sorry, nothing to add to the answers but just wanted to say what a fabulous photo this is. From the cars on the right to the fact every road except one contains freight vehicles is evocative of a vastly different railway from now on the 60s. It shows the focus BR had on freight even at that time. The whole thread is full of interest - thanks. 

Edited by MidlandRed
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17 hours ago, MidlandRed said:

Sorry, nothing to add to the answers but just wanted to say what a fabulous photo this is. From the cars on the right to the fact every road except one contains freight vehicles is evocative of a vastly different railway from now on the 60s. It shows the focus BR had on freight even at that time. The whole thread is full of interest - thanks. 

 

Agreed that it is an interesting picture but I suppose the counterpoint is that the road network was not what it is now, and I would imagine that Thurso was relatively isolated, particularly for heavy goods traffic (e.g. bulk fuels) so the railway would be the default option for transporting goods from points south.

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