Geese by rail?

[corneliuslundie]

Something completely different. In the days when the drovers took cattle on foot from West Wales to London, they also not infrequently took geese as well. Apparently the geese's feet were dipped in something so they could cope with the walk.

So how did geese get to London when the cattle started going by train? Any thoughts? I have never seen any mention of any such traffic. I suppose that because the journey then took hours rather than days they might have been slaughtered first. though there was no refrigeration for a long time.

Jonathan

[Paul H Vigor]

Galloping Goose

[Steamport Southport]

Cattle wagons.

 

There are photos of an entire farm being moved somewhere using GWR cattle wagons and showing the correct way to load them.

 

There is also a 1950s film showing another farm move with livestock being loaded. Possibly on the BFI website. Called something like Moving South.

 

 

 

Jason

[Fat Controller]

5 hours ago, corneliuslundie said:

Something completely different. In the days when the drovers took cattle on foot from West Wales to London, they also not infrequently took geese as well. Apparently the geese's feet were dipped in something so they could cope with the walk.

So how did geese get to London when the cattle started going by train? Any thoughts? I have never seen any mention of any such traffic. I suppose that because the journey then took hours rather than days they might have been slaughtered first. though there was no refrigeration for a long time.

Jonathan

I suspect they would have killed and plucked (and possibly gutted) the geese, and sent then sent them to London or where-ever. They'd be the sort of thing you'd only have at Christmas, so they'd keep a few days without refrigeration. We used to keep our Christmas turkey like that as late as the 1970s, as there was no space in the fridge.

I remember there being a TV drama about someone in the 1960s walking geese from Norfolk to London; the bird's feet were covered with pitch. This seems to be the one:- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087602/

 

[NCB]

If it was a common occurance then it's likely to be more than just Christmas. I'd go for the cattle truck solution. Cattle trucks were used for a lot of things, including horses, sheep, beer and vegetables.

[Steamport Southport]

Found the film.

 

Farmer Moving South - 1952

 

The true story of a farmer who decided to sell his land in Yorkshire and move his entire stock – cattle, pigs and poultry, machinery, ploughs and tractors – south to Sussex by rail in December, on, as it turned out, the coldest night of the year. In this filmed record, A G Street, writer and broadcaster, discusses some of the unusual problems of the move with Inspector Barr of British Railways.

 

 

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-farmer-moving-south-1952-online

 

 

 

Jason

[corneliuslundie]

So do I need to build one or more of these?

1901 25 ft 6 in. Milk and poultry van built Oswestry, no 14

25 ft 7 in. Milk and poultry van, built Oswestry, no. 19

Date? Poultry van, built Oswestry, no. 50

1907 25 ft 7 in. Milk and poultry van, built Oswestry, nos. 322, 323

1914 32 ft Milk and poultry van, built Oswestry, no. 26

These were passenger rated, but whether the occupants were alive or dead I don't know.

Jonathan

[The Johnster]

On 24/07/2020 at 09:09, corneliuslundie said:

These were passenger rated, but whether the occupants were alive or dead I don't know.

Jonathan

I’ve been on a few late Saturday night trains like this...