Headshunt shorter than sidings

[Joseph_Pestell]

As Mike commented further back in the thread, in normal circumstances none of these stations had a level of traffic that would have justified a headshunt.

 

But in all these cases, and a couple in East Devon, the quite extreme gradients and civil engineering work made a headshunt desirable.

[The Stationmaster]

1 hour ago, Chris Dark said:

Sorry, my comment was referring more about the provision of a headshunt rather than whether it was accessed via a trailing / facing connection.

 

St Kews Highway and Port Isaac Road being two that spring to mind.

St Kew Highway didn't have a headshunt.  The  siding layout was unaltered when the trailing connection from the Down Loop, via a diamond crossing, to the yard was altered to a facing connection from the Up Loop in 1939 and the disc reading to the dock and adjacent siding was resited at the single to double connection at the Wadebridge End.  The long siiding at the Wadebridge end was always accessed by a trailing connection in the Up Loop. 

 

Port Isaac Road did indeed have trailing siding off the Up loop which gave access to the dock and goods shed sidings but i doubt it was used for anything more than changing over wagons for them and possibly to handle some traffic as it could only readily be worked by an Up train.

[DLT]

On 01/05/2021 at 01:54, kevinlms said:

It all looks like the problem was caused by a pioneering railway company, not providing sufficient space in the first place!

 

I have it on good authority ( a local railway historian) that the Taunton to Barnstaple line was built "on the cheap", which would explain a lot.

[Chris Dark]

36 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

St Kew Highway didn't have a headshunt.  The  siding layout was unaltered when the trailing connection from the Down Loop, via a diamond crossing, to the yard was altered to a facing connection from the Up Loop in 1939 and the disc reading to the dock and adjacent siding was resited at the single to double connection at the Wadebridge End.  The long siiding at the Wadebridge end was always accessed by a trailing connection in the Up Loop. 

 

Port Isaac Road did indeed have trailing siding off the Up loop which gave access to the dock and goods shed sidings but i doubt it was used for anything more than changing over wagons for them and possibly to handle some traffic as it could only readily be worked by an Up train.

looking at the S-R-S drawing of St Kew, it does show what looks like a headshunt, but in practice would the sidings be shunted from the running line and what I am referring to a headshunt would actually be another siding? 

 

Thanks

 

[Flying Pig]

2 hours ago, Chris Dark said:

looking at the S-R-S drawing of St Kew, it does show what looks like a headshunt, but in practice would the sidings be shunted from the running line and what I am referring to a headshunt would actually be another siding? 

 

Thanks

 

 

That would seem to be precisely what @The Stationmaster is saying:

 

2 hours ago, Chris Dark said:

The long siiding at the Wadebridge end was always accessed by a trailing connection in the Up Loop. 

 

[Claire RJ]

I am currently building a model of Yeoford station and I'm at present drawing up scale drawings for the signal box. Now I have actually been in the signal box here in 1964 but I cannot remember as to how I got into it. It is possible to find photos showing the front and two side elevations but not the back one,  those who know this area will know that Yeoford signal box was on a very high plinth so as to be able to see over the road bridge adjacent. If anyone can shed any light as to how the signalman actually accessed this particular signal box I would be very interested in hearing from you. The adjacent embankment raised to enable the road over bridge to pass over the tracks might just have had a walkway from off it but I have found nothing to help me on this one. The comment with regard to the number of sidings at Yeoford is correct in that marshalling took place here day and night at its peak because for a start it saved goods from Illfracombe and on down towards Yeoford having to go on down by the Great Western railway mainline if it was for example going to Plymouth or Bude or Padstow.

Edited November 21, 2021 by Claire RJ