G-DIMB Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 On my current layout i have a small single road shed with a small coaling stage planned. Trouble is i'm not sure about a few things. Ive seen some sheds have inspection pits and others not, was there a general rule relating to this or was it just location dependent? Also i'm aware that when ash would be removed it would generally be removed well away from a shed, would this be routinely done in a small WR BLT station or would they wait till a bigger shed was visited. While i appreciate some of these questions appear dumb i thought it better to ask for a more informed answer rather than use my own guesswork and research. Thanks Mike Bravo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted September 23, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 23, 2020 Dropping the fire and removing the ash was usually done fairly ‘informally’ (ash pits were features of main line sheds) on the shed road outside the shed, sometimes next to the coaling stage. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Inspection pits were usually in the sheds or directly outside. Needed for oiling up and general maintenance. Even the smallest of sheds such as Ashburton had them. Ashpits were always away from the shed. Don't forget things like dropping ash into inspection pits or on the track would be a disciplinary matter, possibly sackable. I don't think the bloke that burnt down Preston shed was in the job very long afterwards. If you look at the photos on the front and back cover of this book it shows you the difference. Inspection pits are generally deeper and were often lit. https://www.amazon.co.uk/historical-survey-Great-Western-engine/dp/0902888161 Jason 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted September 24, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 24, 2020 18 hours ago, Steamport Southport said: Inspection pits were usually in the sheds or directly outside. Needed for oiling up and general maintenance. Even the smallest of sheds such as Ashburton had them. Ashpits were always away from the shed. Don't forget things like dropping ash into inspection pits or on the track would be a disciplinary matter, possibly sackable. I don't think the bloke that burnt down Preston shed was in the job very long afterwards. If you look at the photos on the front and back cover of this book it shows you the difference. Inspection pits are generally deeper and were often lit. https://www.amazon.co.uk/historical-survey-Great-Western-engine/dp/0902888161 Jason Inspection/prep(aration) pits were an unavoidable necessity on the Western as they provided the best route to access a lot of the motion for oiling. In some cases it was possible to go in 'over the top' (i.e over the top of the running plate) but not always. Prep pits were generally shallower than ash pits for the simple reason that it was necessary to climb up from them to get at various motion parts. As already mentioned by 'Steamport Southport' it was not on to dump ash in a. prep pit because it made not only dirty but potentially exposed people to burns from firebox clinker. Ash pits seem to have been a rarity at small GWR sheds; at the medium/larger sheds they were usually in front of the coal stage so that two jobs could be done at once. The things to clean out on a small shed were smokebox char - shovelled out and dumped to one side (or into the ashpit at a larger shed), and the fire had to be cleaned - this usually involved pulling firebars to one side to dump as much as possible into the ashpan from which it then had to be scraped/pushed (easy with a pit) or, literally digging it out through the firehole door, not an easy task on a tank engine. That was what the long handled shovel you see in sets of fire irons was for. At branch sheds where the engine would be working again the next morning the idea was to leave a small but 'clean' fire in the firebox with no clinker and later in the night the Shedman would begin to gradually build the fire to raise steam to working pressure ready for the arrival of the crew in the morning. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 And here's the aftermath of being careless around engine sheds. That was a shed full of locomotives and people. https://chrisdownesbirds.com/p12038755/h465F8882#h465f8882 Jason 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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