GRCW and Wagon Repairs Ltd.

[GRCWMAaron91]

Hello everyone,

 

I am wondering if anyone could possibly help. I am currently researching the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Limited (GRCW) and Wagon Repairs Limited facilities and locations.

 

from my research so far I have discovered: 

 

Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Limited

 

Had over 600 wagon repair depots by 1886/7 including: 

 

- Aberdare/Hirwaun

- Brentford 

- Birkenhead 

- Chester

- Cardiff 

- Hereford

- Lydney 

- London

- Newport 

- Penarth

- Pontypool 

- Reading 

- Swindon 

- Swansea

Wagon Repairs Limited

 

Wagon Repairs Limited founded in 1918, Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company was a major corporate  shareholder and its then chairman was also a personal shareholder. 
 

Wagon Repairs Limited depots included: 

 

- Stoke on Trent

- Swansea 

- Cardiff

- Bridgend

- Barry

- Llanelly(i)

- Newport

- Aberdare

- Llanharan

- Lydney 

- St. Philips (Bristol)

- Radstock 

 

Although I am interested in all of the depots and areas mentioned above, I am particularly interested with those in South Wales, especially Llanlley/Llanelli. 
 

I was wondering if anyone here may have photographs, maps, drawings or information relating to any of the above GRCW or Wagon Repairs Ltd. sites? 
 

Thank you all in advance. 
 

With kindest regards, 

Aaron Matthews

[Fat Controller]

Aaron,

I had a look around my R A Cooke volume on Llanelly (until 1966)/ Llanelli (post 1966). I can't find a site marked for GRC&W or Wagon Repairs, but did find references for the following:-

Burry Port Docks:- Marcroft not shown in pre 1960 plans, then shown initially just as three sidings, becoming five. Closed 1985

Sandy Jct:- Two works:-

Hall, Lewis, adjacent to Sandy Road. Became Cambrian Wagon Works Ltd (11/6/1937), then Cambrian Wagon and Engineering (31/7/52) and Powell Duffryn Engineering (29/7/59). It closed around 1965.

Amalgamated Anthracite (on the other side of the L&MMR) opened by 1924, closed 1967.

There were some small yards, locally-owned, within the dock area, and a GWR/BR cripple siding/ repair facility at the goods yard, which I think was the last operational site in the area, lasting until at least 1986.

I have fond memories of being taken in my push-chair to watch the tractor push wagons on and off the traverser at Sandy Bridge- this would have been about 1959.

Good luck with your research.

 

[Mark Saunders]

Even in the 1980’s there were still many outstation repair sidings and were allocated their own TOPS location. Port Clarence, Marcroft on Teesside being one.

[hmrspaul]

13 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

Aaron,

 

Burry Port Docks:- Marcroft not shown in pre 1960 plans, then shown initially just as three sidings, becoming five. Closed 1985

 

 

Burry Marcrofts was very active when I found it in April 1987 https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/marcroftburry 

 

Paul

[Compound2632]

Many of these repair outstations could be very small - basically a hut about the size of a wagon. The Gloucester hut at Wigston can in principle be seen in this 20 March 1905 view of Wigston, though you'll need a higher resolution version:

 

 

NRM DY 2810, released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) licence by the National Railway Museum.

 

It's one of a row of huts with signboards on their roofs in front of the railway company wagon repair works - the large building centre right. Others include S.J. Claye, Hurst Nelson, and possibly Harrison & Camm. 

 

Do you have K. Montague, Private Owner Wagons from the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Ltd (OPC, 1981)? That has a history of the company, including something on the financing and wagon repair side of the business.

[GRCWMAaron91]

On 02/03/2021 at 09:56, Fat Controller said:

Aaron,

I had a look around my R A Cooke volume on Llanelly (until 1966)/ Llanelli (post 1966). I can't find a site marked for GRC&W or Wagon Repairs, but did find references for the following:-

Burry Port Docks:- Marcroft not shown in pre 1960 plans, then shown initially just as three sidings, becoming five. Closed 1985

Sandy Jct:- Two works:-

Hall, Lewis, adjacent to Sandy Road. Became Cambrian Wagon Works Ltd (11/6/1937), then Cambrian Wagon and Engineering (31/7/52) and Powell Duffryn Engineering (29/7/59). It closed around 1965.

Amalgamated Anthracite (on the other side of the L&MMR) opened by 1924, closed 1967.

There were some small yards, locally-owned, within the dock area, and a GWR/BR cripple siding/ repair facility at the goods yard, which I think was the last operational site in the area, lasting until at least 1986.

I have fond memories of being taken in my push-chair to watch the tractor push wagons on and off the traverser at Sandy Bridge- this would have been about 1959.

Good luck with your research.

 

Thank you for this. 

I have just acquired a copy of The Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway by M.R.C. Price. On page 90 there is a diagram of Sandy Jnc from 1910 which shows a Wagon Repair Workshops (J. Waddell & Sons) and another Wagon Repair Workshops on old Brickyard site. 

 

On page 94 it mentions "In 1917 siding accommodation was provided at Victoria Road yard for the repair of Wagons, and the telephone was installed. 

 

I have also acquired a copy of The Burry Port and Gwendreath Valley Railway and its Antecedent Canals, Volume Two: The Railway and Dock by R.W. Miller and on page 191 it states "Private sidings were also provided for wagon repairs in Burry Port - Owen & Bevan & Co. and the North Central Wagon Co. who erected a repair shed in 1894 and which had become Wagon Repairs Ltd by March 1921..."

 

I was therefore wondering if you may have any further information regarding the above that could possibly help me find the exact location and possible photos of the site?

Thank you in advance and all the best.

With kindest regards, 

 

Aaron

[GRCWMAaron91]

On 03/03/2021 at 05:24, Compound2632 said:

Many of these repair outstations could be very small - basically a hut about the size of a wagon. The Gloucester hut at Wigston can in principle be seen in this 20 March 1905 view of Wigston, though you'll need a higher resolution version:

 

 

NRM DY 2810, released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) licence by the National Railway Museum.

 

It's one of a row of huts with signboards on their roofs in front of the railway company wagon repair works - the large building centre right. Others include S.J. Claye, Hurst Nelson, and possibly Harrison & Camm. 

 

Do you have K. Montague, Private Owner Wagons from the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Ltd (OPC, 1981)? That has a history of the company, including something on the financing and wagon repair side of the business.

Thank you for this. 

Yes I do have a copy of Monague's book, it is one of my go to sources. 

That is a very interesting photo, I shall have to see if I can get a high resolution copy from the NRM. I haven't been able to find a reference for the Wigston site, only the ones I have mentioned. i shall add this to the list of locations. Thank you.

This is a relatively new project that I am starting and I am trying to undertake all the research I have before starting the main project itself. 

 

Thank you again, this information will come in extremely useful in the future. 

 

Kindest regards, 

Aaron

[Fat Controller]

I think 'Wagon Repairs' at Burry Port became 'Marcroft'. I couldn't see any other wagon works on Cooke's plans of the area.

The L&MMR facility would have been at Queen Victoria Road (which had a coal yard, and was intended to be developed as a passenger station), just north of the Old Castle level crossing. 

The two other facilities were near Sandy Road. The one immediately adjacent to Sandy Bridge eventually ended up as Powell Duffryn, closing by the mid-1960s. The other one, next to the pond, went out of railway use by the 1960s; my father's firm laid a new concrete floor, so that it could be used for warehousing.