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Cowan & Sheldon Turntables


hollywoodfoundry

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Electrically operated specifically? I'd be rather surprised if they were, given the British railway's attitude to/financial ability to renew its infrastructure but Cowan Sheldon in general would have been one of the key suppliers of that sort of thing across the UK (though I can't give chapter and verse, Ransome and Rapier of Ipswich were another). The 'powered' turntables that I can think of all used vacuum provided by the loco - Yeovil Junction still has such a mechanism in working order (but who made it, I've no idea).

 

Adam

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The electrically operated version were mostly the 70 foot ones out here, this is an example of the type, shown inside the Bendigo shed, which is arranged as a roundhouse:

 

bendigo.jpg

 

Note the small shed that contained the machinery and also acted as a control room. The gantry in the centre carried a slip-ring system for electrical power at the top.

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The electrically operated version were mostly the 70 foot ones out here, and being as they were often in roundhouses, and given the size of some of the locomotives, made sense.

 

The LMS installed a number of 60ft replacement turntables inside Midland Railway roundhouses in the late 1920's. I have a copy of the Cowans Sheldon drawing for such a turntable for Bristol Barrow Road which was installed in 1927. The same drawing is also marked Toton No 2 roundhouse [Nottingham] 192 and Kings Lynn 1928. For your information the records of Cowans Sheldon are with Carlisle Records Office in Cumbria who can provide digital copies at a reasonable price.

 

Robin

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The 'powered' turntables that I can think of all used vacuum provided by the loco.

Not sure of location of Cowen & Sheldon TTs without a serious dig in the rafters - even then?

 

But power was not always vacuum.

Some had tractor-like motors electrical/petrol/diesel - I'm not sure if York NRM's (not sure if C&S) is in anything like original state but that is now electric.

Didcot's is electrical - IIRC (again not sure if C&S)

 

... and some were sheer man power

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The O.O.C. turntable is the only U.K. one that I can think of, that is / was originally electric powered. Perhaps others will know of more ?

 

The t/t at the Didcot Railway Centre is ex-Southampton New Docks S.R. and would have been vacuum powered, or hand cranked, when there.

http://www.didcotrai....html#turntable

 

Regards

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The book on Cowans Sheldon ( "Carlisle's Crane Makers" by Alan Earnshaw (Nostalgia Road, 2004)) has a chapter on their turntables, which were either manual, vacuum or electricity.

 

Thornaby depot on Teeside had an electric turntable according to the book, with a couple of pictures.

 

Interesting about the Old Oak turntable. The author mentions that Cowans Sheldon generally had little success selling anything to the GWR or the WR of BR, although the traverser at Swindon works was on of theirs.

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Hi all,

 

 

I hope you don't mind me adding to the thread here, although it is a tiny bit off topic ?

 

The London Canon Street turntable still actually exists, now located at Hither Green depot in South East London.

 

As stated on my webpage, we used to shift this thing by hand........with a Loco. on as well !!!

 

I do not know the origins of it's power source, but suspect it has always been manually operated, as per the British way of keeping the original costs down ?

 

The turntable is a Ransomes and Rapier build, but Please go to the bottom of my website page http://www.manor-lan...e.co.uk/R&D.htm for some pictures.

 

Unfortunately, one particular NR idiot is trying to get the thing scrapped so he can use the land for more 'office space', my photo's were taken just in case this idiot gets his way !

 

Hope this is........of interest ?

 

Thanks,

 

 

 

Dave

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